Transfer students come to UW–Madison from all over Wisconsin, the United States, and the world, and make up a significant part of our undergraduate student population. We invite you to join us October 19–23 for National Transfer Student Week to celebrate our transfer Badgers and the incredible impact transfer students have on our campus.
The Transfer Transition Program (TTP) is asking for help from previous transfer students and transfer champions (staff, faculty, and peers!) to share out words of encouragement to all first-semester transfers. It’s been a hard semester for many students, and the transition to UW–Madison can feel isolating in general, especially during a pandemic. Now more than ever, we want our transfer students to feel supported, welcome, and part of the campus community.
Our transfer students bring diverse experiences, come from a wide range of institutions, and carry a unique set of strengths. We appreciate who they are and what they bring to the Badger community. Let them know what they mean to us!
Take a moment to recognize our new transfer students and learn about the TTP-organized ways to participate and acknowledge our students:
- Transfer Words of Encouragement — Offer well wishes, words of encouragement, advice, or a personal anecdote for all our first-semester transfer students. We’ll add it to the video feed on the TTP website, and you may even be featured in their Instagram feed or newsletter. Submit your video here! (Psst: subscribe to the Transfer Transition Program newsletter here: transfer.wisc.edu/home/about/#subscribe)
- Transfer Acts of Kindness — Let a transfer student know how great they’re doing. We’ll send them an email telling them they’ve been recognized. Remain anonymous if you wish and leave comments for your nominees to read. Recognize as many folks as you’d like. Your nominee(s) will be notified and emailed eight hours after you submit your act of kindness. Submit your message here!
- Post on your media channels — Change your Instagram profile photo or Facebook cover photo, use our Zoom backgrounds, feature a student in your newsletter or blog, etc. Find the NTSW Marketing Toolkit here.
“About 38 percent of college students transfer on their way to a degree” explains Shelby Knuth, transfer transition coordinator. “If you didn’t transfer, you most likely have a friend who did. UW transfers consistently report lower feelings of belonging on campus, which has a huge impact on a student’s well-being, GPA, and overall feelings of success. Ways to combat this feeling of isolation are to acknowledge transfer students on campus; celebrate their diversity and achievements; and show them how much the UW-Madison community cares about the transfer student experience.”
Take a moment to celebrate a transfer student this National Transfer Student Week.
About the Transfer Transition Program
The Transfer Transition Program is part of the Center for the First-Year Experience, a department within Student Affairs at UW-Madison. The team connects transfer students to UW–Madison to make sure they have the information, resources, and assistance needed to be successful in their transition to campus. TTP provides support in national, regional, and local transfer advocacy, pre-transfer advising, and transfer-specific programs.