By: Rebecca Waskevich
During the spring semester, students might notice some new faces on campus, and these fresh faces are transfer students who have decided to make Bellarmine their college home.
The students who come to Bellarmine in the spring semester for a fresh start at a new school often have a hard time adjusting due to a lack of programming.
Lee Collins, a senior who transferred to Bellarmine as a sophomore, said: “There was no transfer student orientation. They just kinda threw you in. I don’t know how I would’ve survived if I was a commuter or if I didn’t have a nice roommate.”
Claudia Mort had a similar experience when she transferred to Bellarmine in Fall 2015.
“I would say that there really wasn’t any program at the time that guided transfer students through the experience,” Mort said.
Mort said it was helpful for her to live on campus and have a roommate.
“I was told that I could attend the freshman orientation, but it really wasn’t at all for transfer students,” Mort said.
According to the project and operations manager in the Student Success Center, Shelby Bosi, the SSC has tried to help fall transfer students as much as possible.
“In the past, we’ve tried initiatives, but historically nothing has been done for the spring semester. Transfer students haven’t found their home here yet,” Bosi said.
Bosi said the lack of initiatives for spring transfer students is due to the lower rate of admission for the spring.
“This spring, we had a higher rate for transfers than predicted, which is a trend I think we’ll continue to see.
“In the short term, transfer students will continue to float, but we have discussed a transfer center being part of the SSC in our strategic planning process,” Bosi said.
Bosi said she is hopeful that the university will offer more support for this student population soon, and a new role regarding transfer students will be filled by Angela Rone.
Rone is a senior administrative assistant in the Office of the President. Rone said she is excited about working with transfer students in the coming semester, but at this time, her new position is still in the planning process and she does not know her exact roles and responsibilities.
During the fall semester, transfer students were provided a transfer student orientation led by Jessica Lynch, the director of student activities and orientation, said Patrick Englert, the vice president for student affairs.
Englert said the orientation provided opportunities to change schedules and an overview of campus services for transfer students.
“For the spring semester, a welcome reception is being held on Jan. 18 in the vice president for student affairs’ office to welcome our transfer students, check-in and ensure their transition is going smoothly and to assist with any questions or concerns they may have,” Englert said.
Only one transfer student attended the welcome reception.
“Research on transfer student experiences indicates that the recruitment process and first few weeks of the semester are most important to transfer student’s persistence. Ultimately, we want each student to find their fit at Bellarmine and to become an integral part of the campus community” Englert said.