UA System Two-Year Colleges, U of A Strengthen Transfer Connections

Colleagues from the U of A System two-year colleges and the U of A gathered in Fayetteville Sept. 9-10 for the inaugural U of A Transfer Connections Summit, focused on strengthening the transfer student experience across the state.

Participants worked in cross-functional teams to explore how students move between institutions and where greater coordination could help.

"The success of our transfer students is shared work," said Indrajeet Chaubey, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. "Our students may move between institutions, but their goals do not change when they transfer. By working together, we can help them carry their academic momentum and sense of purpose through graduation and into meaningful careers." 

A design workshop facilitated by Chris Tisdel and the McMillon Innovation Studio in the Sam M. Walton College of Business invited participants to consider the transfer process from a student's perspective. One takeaway was clear: progress may not require creating entirely new programs, but instead finding better ways to connect existing people, plans, resources and processes.

"This summit created a space where we could think of the student transfer experience as a system. Helping students find their academic pathway is our collective responsibility as higher education institutions," said Zach Perrine, provost at the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville. "For our rural students especially, being able to connect them to the University of Arkansas early provides them with more academic and career opportunities."

"The relationships among our system institutions are incredibly important, and this experience reinforced just how much we have to build on," said Suzanne McCray, vice provost for enrollment. "There are opportunities to align our work in ways that support our students and help them successfully navigate the transition from one institution to the next."

The summit was facilitated by Enrollment Services and Transfer Central team members Trevor Francis, Natt Watthanaphuti, Jon Swain and Alex Mardian, in partnership with colleagues from across the university.

The two-day event concluded with participants identifying areas for continued collaboration and next steps for strengthening transfer pathways. The work will continue with a focus on helping students understand their academic major options, experiential learning opportunities and the transfer process earlier in their college experience.