Indiana University hosted its fifth annual Transfer Symposium on Feb. 25, for those who work with and for transfer students. The purpose is to make students the focal point in every aspect of the enrollment cycle and ensure the best IU student experience.

The event was organized and implemented by the IU University Transfer Office, which oversees the IU-wide enterprise credit processes for transfer policy, practice, rules, data, agreements and compliance.

Key takeaways from the sessions and speakers were that students, their credits and their experiences matter — including their mental health experiences. Equity also matters, and so do our processes for moving their credits from prospect to enrolled.

The transfer of credit plays a significant role in student recruitment, success and completion, so it takes a village to make things easy, transparent and equitable. There was a clear call to action. Change must be an internal process, and partnerships must be coupled with transparency for our students to feel accepted, and have their credits accepted and applied.

Numbers shared during the conference showed that transfer enrollments have stabilized, with a 1% growth after a 9% drop during the pandemic.

Each year, IU enrolls about 4,000 new first-year transfers with around 9,000 applying and 6,000 admitted.

First-year transfers bring in nearly 175,000 credit hours in total, and 18% of new undergrads enter as IU transfers. Ivy Tech is IU’s top feeder program, representing more than 40% of transfers. Common characteristics of transfers include:

Just over half of transfers graduate with an IU degree, and almost 70% graduate within four years. The top degrees earned are general studies, nursing, social work, informatics and psychology.

A current barrier for transfer students is credit exchange/transparency. A U.S. Government Accountability Office report cited the national average transfer credit loss as 43%. Students can lose some or all credits without careful articulation agreements between the original institution and the institution to which a student is transferring.

The University Transfer Office’s current focus is on enrollment and providing credit transparency for all students. Activities and efficiencies aim to improve access, accuracy and articulation, and to remove bottlenecks for prospective students. This includes a university-wide audit of all equivalencies and rules, and the hiring of two new credential analysts.

IU is facing unprecedented challenges with transfer students. With the number of Indiana Transfer Statewide Articulation Pathways, the number of higher ed options, growing student mobility and increasing use of transfer credit, it is important that IU supports our students’ ability to achieve their academic goals in a timely and efficient manner and without needing to compile excess credit.

Since fall 2013, our transfer cohort is down 10%. Research findings from students who were admitted to IU but never enrolled suggest some of the top reasons students did not transfer to IU were a lack of scholarships; insufficient credit acceptance; length of time for transfer credits to be articulated; and life circumstances. We can make things faster, easier and cheaper so life doesn’t get in the way.

Transfer students are changing, and how we talk and think about them is changing too. The typical transfer student used to come from another college or university and bring in credit. Now we have thousands of “transfer active students,” who are bringing in outside credit through dual credit, AP credit, etc. Many of the 1 in 8 students bringing transfer credit to IU are coming in with more than a dozen credits.

IU has stepped up our game with more guaranteed admissions pathways, now totaling 85. While IU has had transfer pathways for years, they haven’t been guaranteed. Now after completing the pathway and requirements, a transfer student can be ensured admission to IU, a specific campus and a specific program. We also waive the application fees,

Finally, our transfer director and team are taking the lead by launching new strategies and innovations, and by institutionalizing best transfer practices. The University Transfer Office has been heralded by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers for implementing the Transfer WIN Strategy, which compares IU Transfer Standards with the needs of transfer students and staff, ever-changing demographics and compliance, and systems and trends. If IU standards are lacking, the University Transfer Office convenes a stakeholder workgroup to analyze and recommend changes.

Many of you have participated in workgroups and surveys; together, we have made great progress on transfer initiatives. The future of transfer is bright at IU. We are removing bottlenecks for students, making things faster and easier for them, and institutionalizing best practices. All of us must do right by our students and value them and their credits, from the time they are prospects to enrollment and beyond.

Carolyn Gentle-Genitty is the assistant vice president for university academic policy and director of the University Transfer Office.