On Oct. 23, SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr. announced the implementation of a state university-wide Transfer Student Task Force, with the goal of helping transfer students acclimate to new environments. While this affects every student who transfers into the SUNY system, the task force is meant to assist those who are pursuing baccalaureate education after attending community colleges.
With almost half of SUNY New Paltz’s graduating class each year being made up of transfer students, creating a navigable and helpful support system is vital to guarantee students receive an enjoyable college experience. This starts with the university being able to accept as many transfer credits as possible. To minimize credit loss, new programs and systems to cross reference classes are being introduced. Therefore, classes will be more likely to receive their corresponding credit amount, granting transfer students more flexibility and alleviating the frustration that comes with not obtaining credit for classes taken at a college prior to SUNY New Paltz.
One of the SUNY system’s objectives is to eliminate discrimination that may occur while transferring. From Objective II of the Transfer Task Force, the State University of New York promises, “It is incumbent upon SUNY to reduce barriers faced by all students but specifically those from underrepresented populations and lower income students who have been shown to be disproportionately disadvantaged when transferring.” This is incumbent upon removing unfair obstacles that may present themselves during the transfer process, such as providing a clear path of communication between the future transfer student and the university they wish to transfer to.
In order to establish an interconnected community that supports communication, the SUNY system intends to reinforce a role in all universities under its reign in New York. With this as a resource for incoming transfer students, there is hope for less misunderstanding when it comes to requirements and mandatory steps that present themselves during the transfer process.
In the State University of New York’s press release on Oct. 23, SUNY New Paltz’s own President Darrell P. Wheeler commented, “Transfer students are a vital part of our community here at New Paltz and across SUNY, which is why we work diligently on campus and with our community college partners to ensure their success, from the early stages of application through to degree completion and beyond.” This program exists in light of data which dictates that less than 20% of students who intend to pursue a bachelor’s degree after community college complete this goal within a 6-year timeline.
With improvements like these being implemented across the SUNY system, transfer students both have a greater ability to succeed as incoming students and feel less overwhelmed by the process as a whole. What had once been considered a daunting decision now has greater hope towards being one deemed supportive and nonthreatening. From financial aid to student records, the Transfer Task Force aims to cover every worry a transfer student might have.