PFW exploring ways to make process easier for transfer students

National Transfer Student Week, Oct. 17–21, is being highlighted for 2022 by several recruiting initiatives, including Transfer Don Day, which involves on-site sessions on Tuesday and direct outreach with invited candidates conducted remotely on Wednesday. This may not seem like a huge point of emphasis on campus right now, but that may be changing.

Because the projected college enrollment numbers continue to shrink nationwide, transfer students are becoming more valued. According to author Nathan D. Grawe’s “Demographics and the Demand for Higher Education” published in 2018, college-aged population of the country is expected to drop by 15 percent between 2025 and 2029. It will continue to drop by a percentage point or two over the following few years.

The trend started during the December 2007 economic downturn when many couples delayed starting families and continues even to this day because of population shifts to the West and South. The Midwest is one of the targeted diminishing areas for this change.

To study these projections and suggest changes, Purdue University Fort Wayne has formed a Transfer Advisory Group headed by Ryan Wooley, interim associate vice chancellor of enrollment; Beth Carlin, associate director of transfer and adult experience; and Andrew Kopec, associate professor of English. 

The group’s eventual goal is to simplify the process to help more potential transfers.

“We need to rethink the transfer process we have on campus,” Wooley said. “It’s something where we already have students coming in, so it’s a hot topic — but we are somewhat behind some other institutions. We’re not terribly behind, but we are not where we should be in the landscape of competitors who are doing it very well.”

Transferring into PFW is a complicated process because so many campus entities could be connected. Partly, it involves continuing relationships with other institutions, such as two-year colleges. Essentially, if the group is successful, everything about PFW’s process could be streamlined. 

The committee has met twice and include 15 representatives from academic departments, advising, the Disability Access Center, athletics, The Women’s Center, the registrar, and admissions. They are focusing on Military Student Services, international students, financial aid, and student life, so transfers should affect all of campus.

“The very first thing we’re doing is an institutional assessment,” Carlin said. “We’re not having an outside group do it, so everyone is taking the pieces they can answer to; where are we at, where do we need more input, and where are the holes, and how do we fix them?”

There’s already an understanding of how this self-assessment can help all parts of campus. As Kopec said, the goal is to become a transfer-friendly institution as part of a larger admissions strategic plan.

One goal is to have a plan by the end of the fall semester, and part of that includes developing a FAQ checklist for students wishing to transfer to PFW. Representatives are also studying what other schools do well and what the university can adopt. 

“We are headed in the right direction,” Wooley said. “It will all result in some really good work.”