Adjusting to college life, the UCSD quarter system and
living away from home can be difficult for any incoming freshman. But transfer
students, thrown into UCSD’s academic sphere without the benefits of on-campus
social networking, often face an even more challenging experience.
As part of its ongoing commitment to better involve transfer
students in the campus community and enhance their preparation for UCSD’s
rigorous curriculum, the Academic Senate Committee on Educational Policy is
currently scrutinizing its existing seminars for transfer students and planning
for future expansion, according to Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Penny
Rue.
“One of the things I like to say about transfer students is,
‘Transfer is something you do, not something you are,’” Rue said in a Nov. 20
interview. “After a month, you want to be called a UCSD student, not a transfer
student.”
Offering transfers a “small academic experience” that
acquaints them with campus and student life is a necessary step toward
alleviating feelings of isolation, Rue said.
Biology professor and Academic Senate Chair Jim Posakony
said that the committee is not currently reviewing any proposals for new
transfer seminars, but will continue examining current course offerings until
the review is completed.
Currently, all seminars are offered through the Transfer
Student Seminar Program and are reserved exclusively for transfer students,
according to the UCSD Office of Academic Affairs. The courses are offered
during Fall Quarter, graded on a pass/no pass basis and count for one unit of
credit.
However, only a certain number of divisions and departments
offer the seminars. During last quarter’s enrollment period, seminars were
provided by Sixth College, the Division of Biological Sciences, and the
departments of economics, political science and sociology. Most of the seminars
being offered address topics such as how to access UCSD resources, how to get
involved in research or internship opportunities and what options are available
to them upon graduation.
Some transfer students, however, believe that more in-depth
seminars could help them overcome the burdens of integration and become more
immersed in campus activities.
Travis Nelson, president of Thurgood Marshall College’s
Transfer and Re-Entry Students Organization, said that any transfer seminar
geared toward academic preparation would be very useful in illustrating UCSD’s
competitive atmosphere and high expectations.
“I’ll admit that I never read a book while attending
community college,” Nelson said.
All-Campus Transfer Association President Marwan Azzam said
there is a general understanding that transfer students need a different kind
of attention.
Each of the colleges at UCSD has its own programs to get
students involved with the campus, but Azzam said the main problem is a lack of
motivation.
“It’s not that UCSD has not made the effort to get transfer
students involved but rather it’s on the part of transfer students to get
involved,” he said.
While Azzam feels that transfer seminars are a step in the
right direction, he said there would need to be something more substantive than an orientation-based cirriculum to
entice students. Most transfer students come into UCSD during their junior
year, so they are focused on attending class and meeting their career goals, he
said.
Rue agreed with Azzam, saying that inadequate depth led to
the rejection of some past transfer seminar proposals made by individual
colleges.
“The colleges put some together, but they were too
‘adjustment to college’ and not academically robust,” she said. “Right
now, the main outreach to transfers is through the colleges, but it’s very
hard to do that without residence.”
Azzam’s concerns reflect the sentiments of many transfer
students themselves.
“I’d attend the seminars, it would be nice if they counted
for my degree too,” said John Muir College junior and transfer student Steven
Tang. “Actually, if they didn’t I might not be motivated enough to go.”
