Nationwide, student attendance patterns are exhibiting increasing complexity. During the 1970s and 1980s, the proportion of undergraduate students attending more than one institution increased from 40% to 54%. Preliminary data from the 1990s suggest that the proportion of multiple institution attendees will exceed 60% by the year 2000 (Source: Adelman, 1999, Answers in the Tool Box).

During fall 1998, 1,822 undergraduate transfer students were enrolled at Portland State University (PSU), representing 17% of the undergraduate student body (Source: PSU Fact Book). Over the past eight years, sophomore and junior transfers have increased 58%. Of these sophomore and junior transfers, over two thirds (69 – 70%) re-enrolled or graduated one year after entering PSU (Source: OIRP Transfer Student Retention Rates).

In light of the increasing number of students who transfer among institutions, focus groups consisting of transfer students were conducted at PSU in order to gain insight into the transfer experience, identify areas in which PSU can improve the transfer process, and increase transfer student satisfaction.

During spring 1999, students enrolled in the Capstone (UNST 421), "Facilitating Community Service through Moderating Focus Groups", volunteered to assist the Office of Institutional Research and Planning (OIRP) and the Office of Admissions and Records (OAR) in conducting focus groups with current undergraduates who transferred to Portland State University.

In total, 36 transfer students, ranging from 19 to 48 years of age (M = 26 years), participated in one of six focus groups. Two thirds of the sample were women and most were Business or Psychology majors. They had been attending PSU from one term to three years and most had transferred 60 to 90 credits to PSU or used a block transfer. Three groups consisted of students who had transferred primarily from two-year colleges; the remaining groups consisted of students who had transferred primarily from four-year institutions. However, half of the students had attended multiple institutions, and one third had attended both two- and four-year institutions.

The focus groups addressed positive and negative aspects of the students’ transfer experiences. Participants discussed in detail their transfer experience and what PSU could do to improve the process. The second half of the session consisted of transfer students providing specific information about the advising they have obtained at PSU

The findings represent the entire sample, however, when transfer student responses from two-year institutions differed from transfer student responses from four-year institutions, the results are presented separately.

Transfer students indicated that the reasons they came to PSU were cost, location, convenience, and availability of specific programs. This finding is consistent with the results of the PSU student surveys administered through OIRP (Source: http://www.oirp.pdx.edu/). Respondents to the Entering, Current Undergraduate, and Graduates surveys from multiple years indicated that these same factors are the main reasons they chose to attend PSU.

In general, participants indicated a lack of support from their previous institution in the transfer process. Specifically, students from the community colleges reported that though they received some helpful information, in some cases the information provided by their previous school was misleading.

Transfer students had positive and negative experiences with regard to academic advising at PSU. One student stated that "some people went above and beyond the call of duty"; another stated that advising is accessible at PSU. Others, however, had negative experiences with advising. One student remarked that "even if you go to the same advisor, you get a different answer every time". Additional comments regarding advising addressed the lack of advising for upper division students and the need to have two different advisors for major and university requirements. One student stated that it was "cumbersome to see two different advisors for major and university requirements".

For University Studies (UNST), students from both four-year and two-year institutions felt the program requirements were unclear. Some also felt that classes were disorganized, and some were not convinced of the value of UNST in the context of their overall experience.

Students expressed dissatisfaction with the bureaucracy at PSU stating that registration was difficult, there were long lines, and information about degree requirements was unclear. With regard to communication at PSU, only transfer students from two-year institutions expressed dissatisfaction stating that there was "no information on where to go or who to talk to" at PSU and "people are hard to approach". In addition, students were dissatisfied with the scheduling of classes; one student suggested that "the general sequence of classes should be offered every quarter instead of starting in the fall".

The remainder of the study focused on gathering suggestions from participants to aid PSU in making the transfer process more accommodating. Participant recommendations focused on ways to improve academic advising and communicate pertinent information to transfer students.

Transfer students would like advisors to be well informed and personable. They suggested that advisors with specific transfer process training should be assigned to students at the time of their transfer to PSU. Students felt that advisors should be held accountable for the advice they provide. One student suggested that advising sessions should be documented to encourage advisors to provide consistent information. Another suggestion for making advising more personable was to establish a "transfer buddy system" whereby PSU students are assigned to transfer students to aid in the transition process.

Students also felt that cross-training between departmental and general advisors might improve the process. One student suggested "giving each IASC advisor two departments to be familiar with". Others commented that department advisors should be more familiar with General Education requirements and general advisors should be more familiar with department requirements.

Students suggested that more specific transfer guidelines would be helpful. Students from two-year institutions commented that PSU should give transfer students an information packet that includes the names and phone numbers of whom to contact for various information, checklists or flow sheets of what students need to do during the transfer process, and a list of frequently asked questions and answers. Students from two-year schools also felt that PSU should supply the local community colleges with more specific transfer guidelines and that there should be liaisons between PSU and all Oregon and Southwest Washington community colleges. Students from four-year institutions requested more information on campus groups and activities and suggested that receiving a newsletter might increase school spirit and encourage more student participation.

The focus groups provided valuable insight into transfer student experiences. The Office of Admissions and the Information and Academic Support Center have reviewed the findings and begun to take steps to improve the transfer process. For example, a new position, Coordinator of Community College Relations, has been created and work is underway to create a more comprehensive information packet for transfer students.