Transfer Symposium 2014

Transfer Symposium 2014: A Campus Conversation about Transfer Student Success

Transfer Symposium:
A Campus Conversation about Transfer Student Success

October 24, 2014: 1 PM to 4 PM

Academic Affairs is hosting a Transfer Symposium on Friday, October 24, 2014, from 1pm to 4pm. The aim of the Symposium is to raise awareness about transfer students and the issues they face, so that faculty and staff can better understand the students with whom they work.

Goals and Objectives

To continue the campus conversation about creating an institution-wide vision for transfer students.
To learn about special populations of students: military, adult/non-traditional, and early college students, and how we can best serve them in and out of the classroom.
To showcase the outcomes of the Transfer Symposium 2013 and how these have contributed to transfer student success.

Why attend?

To continue the campus conversation about transfer students and delve a little deeper into these very important special populations..
To hear directly from transfer students as they tell their stories.
To be eligible to request funding for projects to enhance learning, services, or programming for transfer students or to conduct research regarding transfer students. Awarded departments/offices would be expected to present findings/results at the Transfer Symposium 2015.
To be eligible to request funding to attend a national conference that focuses upon transfer students. Funding for conference travel will be offered as a match to your department’s contribution.

Who should attend?

Faculty, staff and students on campus should attend with the goals of learning more about transfer students and sharing that information with their department/unit prior to the end of fall semester.

Which departments should attend?

Academic departments which offer majors listed in the “top 10” for transfer students over the past three years.
Academic departments which would like to attract more transfer students
Student development departments that deliver programming or student services.
Academic services departments that interact with transfer students.
Student organizations that want to join this campus conversation.

Departmental teams are encouraged.

Transfer Symposium:
A Campus Conversation about Transfer Student Success
October 24, 2014: 1 PM to 4 PM

Parkway Ballroom, Plemmons Student Union

12:30pm	Registration opens Parkway Ballroom
12:30pm~1:30pm	Poster Presentations - Research Put into Action Recipients of funding from the 2013 Transfer Symposium present their findings. Parkway Ballroom
1:30pm	Opening Comments Dr. Martin Lancaster, Member, Appalachian State University Board of Trustees; Former President, North Carolina Community College System Parkway Ballroom
2:00pm~2:40pm	Breakout Sessions - Digging Deeper into the Transfer Experience Transfer students come from different institutions, experiences, and times in their life cycles. Learn more about one segment of our transfer student population. Goals: to better understand the unique needs of this population of students to understand how previous experience prepares/impacts transfer experience to identify ways we can serve/teach/impact transfer students at Appalachian to better understand the impact of transfer credit Choose one track: Military Students Learn more about state and campus initiatives that support military student success and discuss ways in which our campus community can serve/support this very special population. Presenters: Ann Marie Beall, Director of Military Education, Federal Relations Division, University of North Carolina Lynn Gregory, Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Chair of Military Affairs Committee, Appalachian State University Rough Ridge Room, 4th Floor, PSU Students from Early Colleges Key administrators from a "model" early college high school will provide an overview of the mission and structure of early college high schools in North Carolina and discuss the needs of this unique group of students. Presenters: Candis Hagaman, Principal, Caldwell Early College High School, Caldwell Community College, Hudson, North Carolina Kim Burns, Fifth Year Seminar Instructor, Caldwell Early College High School, Caldwell Community College, Hudson, North Carolina Nikki Crees, Director, Advising and Orientation, Appalachian State University Parkway Ballroom Non-traditional and Distance Education Students Gain a better understanding of the main campus non-traditional and distance education student population and Appalachian strategies to meet the needs of this population. Presenters: Blair Hancock, Dean, Arts and Sciences, Wilkes Community College Kathleen Lynch-Davis, Program Director, Curriculum & Instruction, Appalachian State University Tiffany Soiset-Sheaff, Senior Undergraduate Program Manager, Distance Education, Appalachian State University Beacon Heights Room, 4th Floor, PSU
2:45pm~3:25pm	Student Panels - Learn from those "In the Know" Choose one track. Military Student Panel Moderator: MAJ (R) Bob Gibbard, Academic Advisor, Appalachian State University Rough Ridge Room, 4th Floor, PSU Early College High School Student Panel Moderator: Nikki Crees, Director, Advising and Orienatation, Appalachian State University Parkway Ballroom Non-traditional and Distance Education Student Panel Moderator: Claudia Ward-Eller, Program Manager, Division of Distance Education, Appalachian State University Beacon Heights Room, 4th Floor, PSU
3:30pm~4:00pm	Closing Session - Wrap Up and Next Steps A chance to reflect on the day's sessions and to find out about funding opportunities for transfer-student related research and professional development. Parkway Ballroom

Programs Funded through the Transfer Symposium 2014-15

Teams who attended Appalachian State University’s Transfer Symposium on October 24, 2014 were eligible to respond to the following requests for proposals:

Request for projects to enhance learning services or programming for transfers.
Request for funding to conduct research on aspects of the transfer student experience.
Request for matching funds to attend a national conference that focuses upon transfer students.

The Transfer Advisory Board received seven proposals totaling $11,704. The following requests were funded and will be presented at the Transfer Symposium 2015:

Programming

1. Transfer Connect

Unit: Counseling and Psychological Services
Personnel: Stephanie Langston, Denise Loven, Melissa Baab, Ally Matt, Elisabeth Cavallaro
Programming:

Workshops specifically tailored to transfer student needs
Informational programming at the beginning of the semester
Time and space for transfer students to interact socially

2. Hosting the 2015 Writing Across the Curriculum Conference

Unit: Writing Across the Curriculum
Personnel: CC Hendricks
Programming:

Hosting of the seventh annual Writing Across Institutions conference at Appalachian on March 27^th, 2015

Research

1. Developing faculty communication strategies

Unit: Department of Communication
Personnel: Lynn Gregory
Goals:

To identify best practices in Veteran student support that relate to student/faculty communication
To identify and qualify current Veteran student perceptions of student/faculty communication
To use the results of the study to make recommendations for improving student/faculty interaction in both practice and perception

2. The Role of Writing Centers in the Transfer Student Experience

Unit: University Writing Center
Personnel: Julie Karaus
Goals:

To investigate the relationship between transfer students’ use of the writing center and their confidence in writing
To investigate the relationship between confidence in writing with retention and persistence
To better understand the perceptions transfer students bring to four-year institutions in terms of the support writing centers provide and whom they are meant to serve

Conference Attendance

1. National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students

Unit: Belk Library and Information Commons
Personnel: Kelly McCallister, Kelly McBride
Goals:

For library faculty to improve or provide new and innovative library services for Appalachian State University transfer students

2. Student Veterans Association National Conference

Unit: Academic Advising and Orientation
Personnel: Bob Gibbard
Goals:

To investigate best practices for supporting Veteran transfer students at Appalachian State University

Transfer Admissions & Engagement