Hi folks! I’ll be visiting College of Southern Maryland tomorrow – be there or be square! Stay tuned for latest Transfer Admissions news – it has been a while since I have last posted, and there are plenty of things to go over!
Spring 09′ classes have officially started today! If you are interested in 09′ fall, now is the best time to get started with the application process!
Between now and February 15th, you should submit your FAFSA (visit www.fafsa.ed.gov and insert 002107 for school code. You will need to obtain a Federal Personal Identification Number to sign the application electronically at www.pin.ed.gov).
By submitting an application, completing your FAFSA, and submitting whatever official college transcripts you have (and high school if you are less than 30 credits), you will complete your application in time to receive the best consideration not only for need-based aid, but also for our transfer-scholarship opportunities and housing.
Yesterday, the Admissions Office hosted its annual holiday party! It has been quite busy the past few weeks, but there is always time for a bit of fun too 
I have really enjoyed working with such wonderful people – I have an enormous appreciation for what my colleagues do here, and it continues to be a pleasure being involved with them and the University!
Students – enjoy your holiday (and the time off)! I have devised an unofficial criteria for how to enjoy your break (as if you need to be told how..):
- Eat relentlessly. Spare not a single piece of chocolate. Have at least three servings at dinner.
- Sleep as long as you can. My record is two in the afternoon, back when I was a gleeful freshman on my first winter break (I was tired after that first semester at college).
- If at all possible, stay out of trouble. I mean it!
- Try not to forget everything you just learned.
- As always, be safe this holiday season!
Enjoy your holiday – and congratulations for completing (or for our new registrants, preparing for) another semester here at Stevenson U.
Congratulations to those who have already showed up and registered for classes this past Tuesday (12/16). You are officially enrolled at Stevenson University – classes begin on January 12th. Don’t worry if you were unable to make it, or if you have yet to complete your application for the spring semester; we will continue registering students throughout the first week of January. Depending on your program and adviser, you will be assigned a date sometime during the first week of January; we will be contacting you by telephone once we have determined the appropriate appointments for your major.
If you have been accepted into the University and you have not already done so, please return all necessary paperwork as promptly as possible (including health forms, enrollment deposit) – these documents are necessary for you to not only move-in on campus, but to reserve your place in the spring 2009 class. Also – if you are a commuter student you must still submit these documents (as well as the deposit) even if you are not planning to live on campus!
Holiday season is rapidly approaching – along with final exams and papers! Cheer up though, because Dunkin’ Donuts is currently offering a seasonal Gingerbread Latte – try one, it is breathtaking! Not that I am taking sides for Dunkin’ Donuts or Java Journeys, I’m just pointing out the facts here…even though I am admittedly more of a rationalist when it comes to my coffee I suppose..(refer to previous post Dunkin’ Donuts vs. Java Journeys).
I was driving out on the roads this past Saturday, and there was a bit of ice out there. It doesn’t take much, but no vehicle is really ideal for ice – my trusty Corolla was rendered little better than a tricycle! Although Maryland has comfortable weather, we do occasionally get those wintery nights. As winter weather approaches, I would like to encourage all of our students (especially commuters) to always drive safely to and from their destination. As a former commuter student, I learned over the years to include a few things in my vehicle, for those unexpected winter days! Just a few things to keep in mind:
- Keep an extra coat in the trunk of your car – something that is winter-weather appropriate
- Keep blankets, a shovel, and ice scraper as well.
- While it seems that most folks are inseparable from their cell phones, always make sure your phone is charged in order to make or receive calls. You can also receive inclement weather notices through text messaging via SUALERT system.
- Although class can be canceled when weather interferes with travel, be your own judge when necessary. Sometimes it is safer to miss one class than risk the change in weather.
We’re not exactly the Arctic Tundra when it comes to Maryland weather (A friend of mine from when i was in college hailed from Pulaski, NY – she would tell me horror stories of 8 foot snow drifts…Can’t compete with that..), but it never hurts to play it safe (even if our weather is so comparatively mild)! You can be notified through text messaging/email by going to our home page, www.stevenson.edu and looking under “Quicklinks.” There, you will notice SUALERT – simply register online to be notified. In addition, students can learn about inclement weather closings through the following means;
Web: Updates are sent to all SU e-mail accounts, and are posted on the home page.
Phone: Updates are announced on the emergency information line; call 410-486-SNOW (7669).
Media: While radio and television stations receive frequent updates, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or timeliness. Rely on SUAlert, SU e-mail, the website, or the emergency line.
I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving break! We are now in the month of December, and in just a few weeks we will begin registering transfer students for the spring 2009 semester. Adrienne Casalena and myself have already sent out letters and phone calls to remind students, but please call the Admissions Office if you have yet to RSVP. In order for your adviser to prepare a list of appropriate course choices for you, it will help us to know if you will be attending.
Registration is Tuesday, December 16th at 1:00 p.m. Get there a half-hour early. Registration is at the GREENSPRING campus (off of Greenspring Valley Road); check-in is at the theater lobby. If you are required to take a placement test, please arrange to do so BEFORE this date (contact our Admissions Office – 410-486-7001). Bring along any official/unofficial transcripts you may have, and if you took any college coursework this fall, bring along a course schedule too.
That’s all I got for now!
Our Facebook group page, “Stevenson University – Transfer” has acquired 67 members so far! Thanks to everyone for joining and participating! It is fully our aim to see that number increase with each semester, as more prospective, accepted, and current transfer students continue to join. I have been thinking about the Maryland Institute for Transfer Success, and on what faculty and staff across Maryland have conferred; that the top incentive for transferring from one institution to another for the average student is to get “the best deal.” As membership continues to grow, I would like to emphasize in our Facebook group why Stevenson University is the best deal out there for transfer students. We offer a lot of exciting programs, we award generous merit-based scholarships for transfer students, and we accept as many as 90 credits from other (four year) institutions. But we are far more than an academic bargain; we are also a unique community, because we are a campus with both the excitement of an expanding University as well as the charm of a small, nurturing learning environment.
I will also be assisting the Registrar’s Office as they move to create their own Facebook group. It is an exciting concept that academic offices will be made readily available to students on a widely used social network. In our drive to become a 2.0 University with Blogs and YouTube and the like, Facebook is a practical communicative outlet that reaches out to students, many of whom have grown up with technology as a source of entertainment. Social networks appeal to a generation which grew up with Nintendo and, later, graduated high school with X-Box Live; we are an electronic culture! Indeed, it is possible to make friends with someone halfway around the globe, without ever having to leave your living room. In keeping with the current trends, we as a University are excited to engage these modes of communication to share our academic potential! Hang on a second…there goes my Blackberry..
The last Open House for fall 2008 is fast approaching – in three days! Once again, it is an excellent opportunity to acclimate yourself with Stevenson University; faculty, programs, and the social environment on campus. Hope to see you there!
It is fast approaching – spring 2009 registration will be on December 16th, at 1:00 p.m. Check-in is at the Greenspring Campus, Theater Lobby. I’ll be sending letters out next week…
The Maryland Institute for Transfer Success convened at the Turf Valley Resort Hotel just a few days ago, to discuss the challenges, interests, and goals of transfer students in the State of Maryland. The MITS Conference, which included representatives from four year as well as two year institutions, is designed to foster collaboration between these institutions to improve the experiences of the transfer student body.
The demographic of the transfer student body and its needs have changed, however. With the stress of an economic recession and thousands of young veterans returning home, there is an increased demand for online and accelerated courses – so students can continue to work full-time or part-time while benefiting from their college education. Similarly, more and more students are enrolled as part-time students or in work study programs.
In addition, however, transfer students in MD demonstrate movement between a variety of institutions, which in turn requires thorough cooperation between these institutions. Students not only transfer from community colleges to four year institutions, but also transfer between community colleges, between four year institutions, and from four year institutions to community colleges. Such broad movement patterns have prompted many coordinators and faculty to advocate a State-wide ARTSYS, designed to include partnerships between these various institutions across Maryland to smooth the transition for transfer students attending any given school.
ARTSYS, as it stands, is a helpful tool for transfer students – depending on your current school, the school you intend to transfer to, and how recently the courses have been updated between the two by faculty members. With courses at any given institution being updated, added, or removed each academic year, the database is not always as accurate as it could be.
Most importantly, however, are the academic trends of transfer students in Maryland. What is the main reason students transfer for? Almost unanimously, most students want to get the “best deal.” They want the best education for their buck. This means transferring to a school that offers the program they want, provides the best transfer of credit, and awards the most money.
Graduation trends for transfer students are on par with those of native students, although first semesters are often difficult transitioning periods. This tendency, known as “transfer shock,” is basically the initial time in which transfer students adjust to the new academic and social environment of the institution they have transferred to. This demonstrates that the success of the transfer student is not based solely on the transfer of credit and meeting application dates; their success is also partially based on post-admission services, offered to the student after they have officially transferred to their institution. Transfer students are not unfamiliar with college; but the data reflects that transfer students would benefit from follow-up orientations, transfer student groups for networking, and the same general services (career counseling) already available to entry-students.