Transfer Student Involvement

CONSIDERINGTRANSFER STUDENT

INVOLVEMENTTaylor Jantz

Samantha Lamere

Brandie VanOrder

• Pic of Braxton• ACPA CSI logo

THE PROCESS

• Phase 1: quantitative analysis of Quality of Life Survey data– Administered annually to all undergraduate

students in November

– 33% response rate on average

• Phase 2: Focus groups conducted– 2 in late September, 2 in early November

– 12 student participants in first groups, 7 in second set

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY

• 6,851 Undergraduate & 5,874 Graduate

Students

• 47% Men & 53% women

• 96% of undergraduates live on campus

• 97% Retention Rate

• Holistic First-Year Commons Experience

THE TRANSFER STUDENT

EXPERIENCE

• No office/structured services

• Orientation is 2 days with no ongoing

programming

• Acceptance rate for transfer students is 44%,

compared to 13% for first-year students

• 8.5% of the 2014-15 Student Body are Transfers

BACKGROUND• Language: “transfer” and “native”

students

• Horizontal & vertical transfers

• Minimal research about how transfer

students get involved

social integration

intellectual growth

retention

GET INVOLVED!

Sources: Kuh et al. (2005), Pascarella & Terenzini (2005)

”“Source: Astin (1999)

the quantity and quality of the

physical and psychological

energy that students invest in

the college experience

- Absorption in academic work

- Participation in extracurricular

activities

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

To what extent do transfer students

DIFFER from native students in their

student involvement?

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

To what extent does being a transfer

student INFLUENCE student

involvement?

RESEARCH QUESTIONSWhat is the process for transfer

student involvement? When do

transfer students get involved on

campus, and in what ways? What

campus opportunities do they seek

out?

RECOMMENDATION:ASK THESE QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR STUDENTS! FIND OUT IF TRANSFER STUDENTS ARE HAVING A DIFFERENT INVOLVEMENT EXPERIENCE.

CONTROL VARIABLES

- Year

- Residential

Area

- Ethnicity

- College

- International

- Income

- Academic

hours

CONTROL VARIABLES

STUDENT INVOLVEMENT VARIABLES

- Student

organization

involvement

- Volunteering

- Residence Life

- Work

- Religious

involvement

- Other social

experiences

DATA OUTPUT Coefficent P-Value

Hours a Week Participating in a Campus Organization -0.285 0.00

Attendance at Programs Offered by Student Orgs. -0.291 0.00

I am Satisfied with my Social Experience at Vanderbilt -0.378 0.00

It Has Been Difficult Making Friends with Other Students 0.593 0.00

Number of Hours/Week Spent Working at a Job -0.285 0.01

Number of Hours Spend Volunteering -0.125 0.04

Have Found a Religious Organization/Community -0.155 0.07

Consumption of Alcohol -0.152 0.09

Residence Hall Program Attendance -0.135 0.28Note: Results are at the 95% Confidence Level

THEMES &RESULTS

Hours participating in

campus student

organizations (29%)

Attend fewer programs

sponsored by student

organizations (29%)

Less satisfied with

their social

experience (38%)

More difficult to make

friends with other

students (59%)

School is really hard here […] that

has really limited my involvement

It comes down to school work

versus enjoying yourself

I literally have no free time. It’s the

hardest thing I have ever done.

RECOMMENDATION:PROVIDE TARGETED ACADEMIC SUPPORT TO TRANSFER STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THEIR FIRST SEMESTER

“ ”“ ”The university has not engaged

me since transfer orientation.

I’m not really trying to make new

friends anymore because I’m just

trying to pass this semester.

RECOMMENDATION:TRANSFER ORIENTATION LEADERS SHOULD HAVE STRUCTURED WAYS TO CONTINUE CONNECTING WITH TRANSFER STUDENTS

“ ”“ ”There weren’t that many

opportunities to learn about

organizations.

The decision to transfer wasn’t to

make me happy in the moment,

but to make me happy in 10

years.

““Themes from the focus groups:

HOUSING

”Grouping us by residence hall would have been great because those are the people you get to know

”I love everyone in my Res Hall (a living-learning community), they are all very open to me.

- Self motivation

- Prior familiarity

- Structured systems

- Community service

Vanderbilt context

Data only goes back to 2010

The first-year Commons experience could have

unknown effects

Other variables that we should have controlled for in

the study, but limited by QLS data

Because we eliminated first year data, Greek Life

information is different

Small focus groups

LIMITATIONS

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTITIONERS