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Angela Payne
Director of Admissions at Meridian Community College
Wednesday, October 29, 2014 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM
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What made you decide to present on transfer articulation?
It was a gradual process. I think when institutions establish these articulation agreements, it’s great and everyone knows the intention. But there was a gap, at least in my experience, about the intentions of the agreement and the application of it. The coordinator of outreach efforts is usually the Director of Admissions and Recruiting, and they send admissions counselors to the community colleges for Transfer-themed days and other direct contact initiatives. I started talking to these counselors on the ground to see what their experiences have been like, and they often noted a wide inconsistence with the students; sometimes the transfer days were really active, sometimes not at all.
So I began to do some research so that this particular group – the counselors, who are sort of the boots on the ground implementing this policy – had a voice. I also wanted to identify ways where we could get students matriculating with greater ease. And getting back to your question, once I finished, I felt like sharing my research and methodology would be a catalyst for conversation around this topic.
What about your results stood out the most to you?
Well, the most surprising element was the level of access counselors have with students, which was demonstrated in two ways. First, there just aren’t enough counselors to do the intensive direct recruitment activity they feel is necessary for good transfer results. The ratio can be a thousand-plus to one, so it can be difficult to specifically address every prospective transfer student’s needs or concerns. Often all the counselor has time to do is point them to the most practical information they can on transferring, namely the articulation agreement – ‘These are the courses and grades you need to get in order to transfer credit, et cetera.’ Many universities only have 2 or 3 counselors on staff, and while the articulation agreement is a good resource, it is hard to reach out to enough students.
Secondly, on the community college campuses where they do the outreach, their presence is not optimized. They may come to a campus, but the students aren’t being led to them for whatever reason. High school fairs, by comparison, are a controlled group. They are aimed to go, very organized, and very active as an audience. That could be their parents putting pressure on them, or their guidance counselors, but they really understand the importance of making a significant impression. So at community colleges, more effort has to be made to point the students in the right direction for the outreach.
What do you hope attendees walk out of this session with a greater understanding of?
I hope a dialogue can be established, where people compare their own experiences with transfer articulation to identify ways to improve the process for the students and the policy implementers – the counselors out there doing the outreach and dealing with those students. I delivered a similar presentation at the AACRAO Technology and Transfer Conference in July. I think I had more registrars in the room than admissions folks, but by and large everyone there is involved with the policy at a higher level, and it is important to understand the difficulties that the other policy actors face.
Anything you are looking forward to doing in Los Angeles?
Yes! I have family in the area and plan on seeing them.