Powered by Publics Releases Report Outlining Best Practices for Transfer Student Success

Transferring to a new college can be cumbersome and challenging for students, too often leading to lost credits and increased time in, and money spent on, school. That’s why a cluster of Powered by Publics institutions focused on improving transfer credit efficiency with the aim of developing, identifying, and scaling approaches targeted specifically for transfers to help them navigate the four-year environment, feel a sense of belonging on campus, and shorten their time to degree.

Looking to inform campus efforts aimed at improving the transfer student experience, the South Eastern Cluster of Powered by Publics institutions undertook an in-depth examination of such supports at campuses in a wide array of institutional contexts.

Earlier this month, the cluster unveiled the results of the examination. Lessons from the work underscore the importance of: investing and reinvesting in establishing trust and clearly communicating needs, positions, and expectations; measuring what institutions value and investing based on outcomes; contextualizing strategies that have proven successful elsewhere with local context. The report also examines data across institutions. It finds that state-level transfer initiatives, articulation agreements, and guided transfer paths have a significant impact on transfer student outcomes.

Institutions in the South Eastern Cluster of Powered by Publics are: Clemson University, East Carolina University, Florida State University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina State University, South Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina Charlotte, the University of North Carolina Greensboro, the University of North Carolina Wilmington, the University of North Carolina System, Virginia State University, and Virginia Tech.