TO THE EDITOR:
Thank you for “Transfer students struggle to graduate in 8 semesters” (Nov. 17). Transfer students bring a broad array of experiences and talents to Carolina; they contribute greatly to our community and deserve our ongoing support.
Within the last five years, University students, staff, and faculty have launched several programs that promote the success of transfer students here at Carolina:
- The Carolina Student Transfer Excellence Program, or C-STEP, helps low-income students transfer from community colleges and graduate on time. C-STEP has proven to be extraordinarily successful. Since the program began in 2006, 86 percent of all C-STEP students have earned their bachelor degrees within five semesters of their enrollment at UNC — a rate that equals the five-year graduation rate of students who begin as first years.
- Three student-led programs , T-Links, a peer mentoring program for transfer students; the Tar Heel Transfer Student Organization; and Tau Sigma, a National Transfer Student Honor Society, assist transfer students throughout their transition to UNC-Chapel Hill. For more information about these programs, please visit www.nscpp.unc.edu.
- The Transfer Student Success Committee, established in August 2010 by the Faculty Advisory Committee on Undergraduate Admissions, works to address the concerns of transfer students and to help them do their best.
As your story suggested, we have still more work to do. But these recent initiatives represent real progress, and they are making a difference.
Stephen Farmer
Associate Provost and Director
Undergraduate Admissions
