A 10-point checklist for recruiting college transfer students

Not long ago, campuses did not place the same level of attention on transfer students that they did on traditional freshmen. In fact, transfer students often had to navigate a gauntlet on many campuses just to enroll. Those days have changed quickly. Not only is the number of transfer students increasing on college campuses, but colleges and universities have found an increase in competition for transfer students.

This increase in competition has been brought on by the stark changes in demographics producing significant declines in high school graduates and traditional college freshmen. Consequently, rather than waiting for transfer students to come to them, many institutions are being more intentional in their efforts to recruit prospective transfer students. In addition, many prospective students are now pursuing their education from multiple institutions prior to committing to an institution as “their” university. The number of options for prospective college students also makes it easier for many to transfer, as they can choose to begin their college educations through online courses, satellite locations, and of course community colleges in their immediate area. Price often plays a significant factor in choosing one of these options as students may wish to save money in the first year or two of their college careers.

This perfect storm of demographics, economic challenges, and an abundance of educational options requires institutions to rethink their transfer recruitment effort. It is imperative that campuses focus more attention on transfer students and not just pursue them, but treat them the way they would traditional-aged students, paying attention to how transfer students fit into the overall enrollment goals of the campus.

10-point checklist
As you prepare to re-invent your institution’s transfer initiatives, you will want to consider several of your current processes and practices. Here are ten suggested questions and areas of review when recruiting transfer students:

1. Do you have dedicated admissions staff who are trained to respond to transfer student issues?
2. Are your current processes transfer-friendly?
3. Do you have dedicated resources on your Web site for transfer students? If so, are they easy for transfer students to find?
4. Do you have special visit days just for transfer students?
5. Do you have effective orientations and intakes for transfer students?
6. Have you adequately communicated your willingness and eagerness to accept transfer students on your campus?
7. (The remaining points are specifically for four-year institutions) Have you built relationships with organizations like Phi Theta Kappa to identify excellent students from the community colleges in your region?
8. Have you reached out directly to community colleges to establish more sustainable relationships and partnerships?
9. Do you have up-to-date articulation agreements you can readily communicate to prospective transfer students?
10. Do you make visits to community colleges to provide personal attention to prospective transfer students?

If you make your transfer student recruitment more systematic and strategic while being deliberate about building a user-friendly environment for transfer students, you will lay a solid foundation for enrollment growth even as demographic changes shrink the pool of traditional recruits.

How can you implement these changes on your campus? Incorporate transfer student goals into your overall enrollment plan? Position yourself more competitively with transfer students? E-mail me and I will share transfer recruitment strategies that have worked at other campuses.