More than 50 prospective transfer students gathered on the Loop Campus for an immersive visit day on Jan. 10, 2018. The occasion was the second annual DePaul Transfer Experience event, coordinated by EMM’s Transfer Admission office and Community College Partnerships department.
Prospective students attend a session at the 2018 DePaul Transfer Experience Event.The idea for this event came out of the Faculty Roundtable Conference that Community College Partnerships hosts every September. Started in fall 2013, the annual conference facilitates connections between community college faculty and DePaul faculty—providing a venue for the sharing of collaboration opportunities, resources and ideas.
Faculty discussions about demystifying the transfer process for students drove the creation of the DePaul Transfer Experience event, which the Transfer Admission team then executed.
This year’s half-day event drew students from 19 different colleges and universities, including all seven City Colleges of Chicago and five suburban community colleges. Attendees had the opportunity to sit-in on DePaul classes, explore campus with DePaul student guides, engage with faculty and staff, hear more about academic programs and other opportunities DePaul offers, and learn about the transfer admission process.
“This is a really unique recruiting tool because unlike traditional visit days, students get an up-close-and-personal feel for what it would be like to study here,” says David Villarroel, assistant director of Community College Partnerships. “The classroom visits are especially eye opening for them. Getting a glimpse of what’s possible leaves a lasting impression. Many of the attendees expressed their surprise and appreciation that DePaul would open up its classrooms in this way.”
Last year’s pilot program provided students three classroom visit options through the Driehaus College of Business. This year, they were able to choose from 13 different classes from the Colleges of Communication, Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Jarvis College of
Computing and Digital Media, and Driehaus.
“So many faculty partnership ideas come out of our fall conference each year, but the most common thing we hear year after year is to host a transfer program that includes classroom visits,” says Villarroel. “We’ve had positive results from the first two programs and definitely anticipate this event getting bigger and better as more and more faculty and prospective students get involved.”
Leveraging faculty-to-faculty partnerships is a powerful tool for recruiting community college students and helping them transfer to DePaul. Community college faculty can provide a conduit for prospective students considering DePaul, and their connections with DePaul faculty can help facilitate initiatives—like the Transfer Experience Event—that help students navigate the transfer process successfully.
For more information about the Transfer Experience Event, contact
Leslie Triplett-Bracy, assistant director in Transfer Admission. For more information about the Faculty Roundtable Conference, contact
David Villarroel, assistant director of Community College Partnerships.