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7 Ways to Retain College Transfer Students

This post is a re-print from Jo Hilman of Noel Levits. For the full post, click Campus officials rate retention programs for college transfer students less effective than first-year student retention programs

7-point checklist for retaining college transfer students, by Jo Hilman

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Understanding transfer students’ attitudes, receptivity, motivations, and level of satisfaction with services is important in supporting their needs. The key is to tailor student success programs to these needs. Below are ideas to consider.

Does your institution offer:

1.  Orientation programs tailored specifically for transfer students, including segments that address concerns such as transfer of credit, finances, major-related internships, and meaningful work experiences?

2.  Programs beyond the usual classroom and advising services that connect transfer students to faculty, staff, and native students within academic or co-curricular interest areas?

3.  Peer mentors for transfer students?

4.  Assignment of students to an advisor within the student’s major/area of interest with an early focus on confirming or further refining a written academic plan?

5.  An advising center devoted to transfer students?

6.  Career fairs for students who are undecided about a major?

7.  Academic support services based on areas of student need and receptivity?

All of these areas are solid ways to support transfer students and increase transfer student retention.

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1 Easy Way to Be a Hero

Be a Hero. Mentor a child.

Did you know…the presence of at least one caring, supportive adult in a child’s life can make all the difference?

I’m passionate about student success and educational equality. Sometimes, we look at our education system, and all we see are the broken pieces the media reports on, so we toss up our hands and say, “well what can I do, I’m just one person,”  absolving ourselves from the whole thing. But, that’s exactly right–you are ONE person and ONE person is all it takes. That’s the Power of You.

Research shows that when adults get involved to mentor and work with students, they have the power to help kids increase10573321855[1] academic achievement, stay on track, think more positively about themselves and increase their opportunities of going on to college.

Think you’re too busy to get involved? Mentoring doesn’t take as much time as you might think. It is as simple as signing up to read to a child for an hour a week. This can make all the difference in the life of an at-risk child, because statistics show us that a child that can’t read well by the end of third grade is FOUR times more likely to drop out of high school.

So, the easy way to earn your Super Hero cape? Sign up as a mentor. Help close the opportunity gap a little bit. And the funny thing is–you will end up feeling like you’re the one that was given a gift. That’s right! By helping someone else move forward a little bit…you move yourself forward.

If you don’t know where to start, try your local library or the United Way. If you already volunteer as a mentor, leave a comment and tell us what you’re involved in. If you think you might want to mentor a young person, but haven’t made the leap, what’s holding you back? I’d love to hear from you.

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Source: Double Jeopardy: How 3rd Grade Reading Scores and Poverty Influence High School Graduation