The Florida Summit on Accelerating Transfer Success took place on Tuesday, September 18, 2018 at the University of Central Florida. The summit brought faculty, staff, administrators, and policy leaders together to focus on Florida’s transfer student population. Florida International University (FIU), University of Central Florida (UCF) and University of South Florida (USF), member institutions of the Florida Consortium enroll more than 50% of students transferring from Florida’s 28 state and community colleges. We caught up with Jason Dodge, Ed.D., Director of Transfer Services at UCF. Dodge is an expert on trends that impact transfer students and he shepherded the inaugural Florida Summit on Accelerating Transfer Success.
Tell us about your role as Director of Transfer and Transition Services (TTS) at UCF.
First, we connect with prospective transfer students early and provide advising services. About 55 percent of our students come from six local institutions but we also advise prospective students from the remaining 22 state colleges in Florida, as well as private and public institutions, out-of-state and some international students. In total, our office sees about 4000 students a year. TTS also leads a program called Transfer Year Experience which is similar to a traditional first year experience program. We help students acclimate to their new campus environment. Last, TTS provides faculty and staff development. We organize conferences and workshops for UCF faculty and staff in order to educate them about the transfer student population.
Describe some problems/barriers to success for transfer students.
I think size can impose certain barriers for transfer students. However at UCF, a lot of opportunities are provided because of its size. One of the difficulties for us is providing transfer students with the resources to tap into those opportunities. Excess credit hours is another barrier for transfer students in Florida. Students frequently come in with a large amount of credit hours, so they need to move through the university much quicker than your typical student in order to avoid fines. While it’s good for students to come to UCF with their associate degree, it also means that once they get here they’re immediately taking upper-level courses. This can cause a bit of a shock at first.
How does UCF ensure transfers students have a smooth transition?
As we see it, the transition starts when prospective students first show interest in UCF with the advising we provide. We’re also piloting a course this fall where Valencia College students will have the chance to take a class on UCF’s campus prior to fully transferring. The course will cover what students should expect as well as what it means to be successful at UCF.
Tell us the inaugural Florida Summit on Accelerating Transfer Success.
I have high hopes for the inaugural Florida Summit on Accelerating Transfer Success. We prepared a solid program and hosted over 200 representatives from 14 higher education institutions. Dr. Dale Whittaker, UCF’s new president welcomed attendees and Madeline Pumariega, the chancellor of the State College System presented some important data. Overall, I hope that we can continue to come together as a state and work together to accelerate transfer student success. In the longer term, I hope we can collaboratively address state metrics as it relates to transfer students. We’ve been doing a lot between the three Consortium institutions individually, but we need to get transfer student success on the minds of all institutions in the state.
If you had your way, what would be the top takeaway for the Florida Summit on Accelerating Transfer Success?
Our breakout sessions provided practices that individuals can implement at their institutions. I hope attendees connected so that they can use what they heard and so that they reach out to each other on an ongoing basis. Coming together as a state is necessary to move towards our vision of a unified system for transfer students.
Lastly, what changes do you hope to see in higher education policy regarding transfer students in the next few years?
I’d like more institutions to recognize the importance of transfer students to their overall student population and what it does for communities. Transfer student success systems provide the possibility of higher education to students that may not have had the means or access to education. I hope more institutions understand the importance of that and dedicate more resources to these students.
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Florida Summit on Accelerating Transfer Success