NISTS | University of North Georgia
NTSW CELEBRATION IDEAS
IDEAS FOR EDUCATING
Help others understand the complexity of transfer mobility by sharing student stories and data.
-
Work with your Institutional Research office (and others) to collect transfer student data. Think about ways to share the data publicly, including social media accounts, campus newsletters, and bulletin boards. Use a free design service like Canva or Piktochart to transform your data into an engaging infographic or presentation.
-
Coordinate with your University Relations office (and others) to publish transfer student stories and profiles throughout the week. Try to choose stories that highlight the diversity of your transfer student population, the complexity of the transfer pathway, and/or the various struggles and triumphs students experience while transitioning between schools.
-
Send an email to your colleagues that advertises National Transfer Student Week. Consider adding facts and figures that illustrate the important impact transfer students have on your campus community.
-
Offer professional development workshops that address the personal, social, financial, or academic aspects of the transfer transition. If you’re not sure which topic to focus on, brainstorm ideas with your campus’s transfer success committee or another department like academic advising or faculty development.
IDEAS FOR PROGRAMMING
Host events and activities that celebrate the diversity of the transfer student experience on your campus.
-
Leverage existing programs by strategically re-packaging them as part of this week’s events. October is always a busy time of year, so the possibilities here are endless!
-
Provide a space (bulletin board, chalking area, printed map, etc.) for students to write where they transferred from or where they’re planning to transfer to.
-
Create a Transfer Gallery that displays swag from your school’s top sending/receiving institutions.
-
Ask prominent student organizations to participate in National Transfer Student Week by collaborating with you or hosting events of their own. Encourage all student groups to recognize and celebrate members who transferred or are planning to.
-
If your campus has transfer student organizations like Tau Sigma or Phi Theta Kappa, be sure to collaborate and partner with them as much as possible throughout the week.
-
Create opportunities for students to connect with each other, faculty, and staff:
-
Set up a National Transfer Student Week table in a highly visible spot on campus. Consider using fun and tasty giveaways to draw attention to your location.
-
Host a social event specifically for transfer students. Invite campus partners to drop in and say hello, network, or advertise their services.
-
Provide a forum to share transfer student experiences, showcasing the diversity of transfer student needs and identities on your campus.
-
Organize a panel presentation with faculty and staff who are willing to share their own transfer student stories (or highlight their stories on social media).
-
-
Co-host info tables, presentations, or roundtable discussions with offices whose high-impact services might be under-utilized by transfer students, such as service learning, study abroad, or undergraduate research.
-
Partner with Career Services to offer transfer-focused workshops, such as:
-
Getting Career-Ready at [University Name]
-
The Transfer Student’s Guide to Finding an Internship
-
The Transfer Advantage: Leveraging Your Transfer Experience During the Job Search Process
-
-
Send an encouraging email to all your new transfer students. If it’s midterm, consider including helpful tips and links to relevant campus resources. (This type of message is particularly meaningful when it comes from someone the student knows or is sent by a faculty or staff person from the student’s academic department.)
-
Send a thank you card to key transfer champions and let them know how much you appreciate their support and advocacy on behalf of transfer students.
-
Invite your campus community to nominate a faculty or staff member for your school’s Outstanding Transfer Champion Award (or something similar). Announce the winners during National Transfer Student Week and present them with a certificate of recognition.
IDEAS FOR GIVEAWAYS
Free swag is a great way to instill transfer pride and build connection with your college or university.
-
Create buttons or stickers with the “I’m a Transfer Student” or “I was a Transfer Student” graphics to emphasize shared transfer experiences and help your transfer students know they aren’t alone on campus.
-
Hand out buttons, stickers, signs, or postcards that say “I ♥ Transfers” to the faculty and staff who support and understand the transfer student experience on your campus.
-
Design a university-branded sticker, pennant, or t-shirt giveaway that’s for transfer students only. Consider asking them to swap an item from their previous school in order to get it. (Then you can add everything you collect to your Transfer Gallery—see above.)
