tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337360001060332600.post1481682681490349755..comments2023-07-25T08:26:50.096-06:00Comments on Learning at Westminster: Being the parent of a transfer studentgaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05362826471852969332noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337360001060332600.post-66572435880907322322011-07-29T13:23:26.927-06:002011-07-29T13:23:26.927-06:00Really interesting post, Gary. A lot of what you ...Really interesting post, Gary. A lot of what you said about how your daughter is feeling resonated with me--I remember feeling and thinking a lot of the same things when I transferred from Mars Hill after my sophomore year. While I was happy to be leaving some things behind, it was tough to close the door on some parts of my experience at the first school. <br /><br />It all made me wonder how often institutions who bring in transfer students attend to these issues. From what I have seen of transfer student orientations, it is a lot of information about the new school, what it offers, how to get around, new policies, etc. I can't see too much effort being put into helping students manage the other half of the transition (e.g. the part where the student is losing and giving up certain things). While, at first glance, it seems odd for the new school to care about any of this, I wonder if there would be something gained by moving the student out of this "grieving" process, if it can be called that. Part of me thinks that, until a transfer student has grappled with questions like "what am I giving up? what am I losing? what can I take with me from one school to the next?" they can't really settle into their new institution and be fully engaged.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14991593461200755444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337360001060332600.post-31799053420894931832011-07-25T10:52:17.392-06:002011-07-25T10:52:17.392-06:00Best of luck to your daughter. I hope she comes to...Best of luck to your daughter. I hope she comes to see this experience not as a personal failure, but as a valuable chance to learn about herself. If this was a crisis, it sounds to me as though it's been managed pretty well by you. Of course, not every student in that situation has a strong support system, nor the luxury of options.<br />I was truck by what you said here: "(The) university in California charges money to withdraw from courses, hides information on how to do it, and provides essentially no advising to students struggling with the decision. So the host school both sets some of the reasons for considering transfer and does almost nothing to help in the decision."<br />My thoughts: The university, as any corporation, acts in its own interest, and it is not in its interest to lose students. Therefore, it will devote no resources to help students transfer out. It will, on the other hand, devote significant resources to help students transfer in, as well as to retain them, especially if they make noises about wanting to leave. My old institution's Dean of First Year Students sent a letter to all faculty in the spring with instructions on how to talk to students who come for advice about transferring. The letter was very specific (if student uses argument X, you should use counter-argument Y). The goal of your advising session with the student should (apparently) be to retain them, not to do what is best for the student (which could, in some cases, be to retain them). My new school, which does not struggle with ranking issues, does not send out such a letter. Students wishing to transfer are sent to one of the deans for a conversation and no effort to retain them is made for institutional reasons. All schools should strive for ethical advising, but it's so much harder to put into practice if your institution acts as a corporation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com