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USF top pick of transfer students
By JOHN PETRIMOULX
© St. Petersburg Times, TAMPA -- According to US News and World Report magazine, more students transfer to the University of South Florida than to any other school in the nation. In 1999, the most recent year surveyed, 3,845 students came to USF from other colleges and universities. And enough of them have come to USF over the years that transfer students now make up 65 percent of the student body. Like USF, all of the other top 10 transfer schools are in fast-growing metropolitan areas in the Sunbelt. But USF is a leader in rolling out the red carpet for students from other colleges and universities. According to Carmen Casey, coordinator of information and publications in the Office of Adult and Transfer Student Services, USF six years ago became the first Florida school to specifically address needs of transfer students. "It's easy to feel intimidated when you are in new and unfamiliar surroundings," Casey said. "So it's nice to have a place to go for help." USF senior Tanya Simmons knows the feeling. A native of Belize, she says when she arrived on campus last year, the adjustment to life at a big school in a big city was at times difficult. "I'm a country girl from a small town near the Guatemalan border," she said. "My junior college had only 600 students." A biology major with an interest in marine science, Simmons now feels comfortable enough that she helps others who come to the ATSS office to find their way through the university bureaucracy and adjust to their new environment. The fact that transfers are the norm at USF is not completely coincidental. Casey's office also houses two recruiters. "We recruit at every Florida community college," she said. Although they stick to Florida now, recruiters have in the past cast a wider net. In fact, Tanya Simmons first learned about USF when a recruiter came to her junior college. She says she is part of a wave of students from her school who were lured to USF by scholarships that covered the tuition differential out-of-state students must pay. Jennifer Murray, a finance major from Jamaica, also learned about USF from a recruiter while at Miami-Dade Community College. As a member of the honors program, she came to USF for a leadership meeting and left impressed by what she saw. "I had offers from other schools in Florida and in the North, but I decided to come to USF," she said. Murray has continued in the honors program and intends to complete an MBA. Doug Hartnagel, USF vice president for Enrollment, Planning and Management, considers the ATSS office a key tool in USF's recruiting effort. "It's a part of our marketing strategy," he said. "It's why we have continued to increase the number of our transfer applicants who actually enroll at USF." Hartnagel thinks USF is ahead of other schools in recognizing a growing trend. "Last year I saw a USA Today story that predicted 60-70 percent of students now entering college will graduate from a different school," he said. In addition, Hartnagel says, the ATSS office also helps USF compete with newer schools popping up in local business centers and on the Internet, wooing students with convenient access and easy enrollment. "We have a lot more competition now," he said. "We would be foolish not to court transfer students." Hartnagel says transfer students have two priorities -- clear, accurate, timely information, particularly about transferring credits, and a place where they feel comfortable. "We can provide information early on about credits," he said. "And we let them know that while at other schools transfer students are few, here they're more than 50 percent of the entering class."
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From the Times |
