Keeping Transfer Students on TRAC: A Practical Framework for Transfer-Centered Communication

Transfer students already know how to “do college,” but that doesn’t mean they won’t need help understanding how things work at a new institution. The transition can be more difficult when communications are built around internal processes without fully accounting for transfer students’ needs. Transfer professionals across campus can serve as important “transfer agents,” using their institutional knowledge to help students make sense of unfamiliar systems and build confidence in navigating what comes next. In this presentation, we’ll briefly examine common questions and concerns that surface across the transfer journey and introduce a practical framework for aligning communication and support with what students need at different points in the process. Attendees will leave with a stronger understanding of the transfer student experience and a worksheet they can use to apply the framework to their own advising practice.