On September 25, 2024, at The Point at Otterbein University, transfer champions, chief academic officers, and faculty gathered to celebrate the culmination of the Ohio Consortium for Transfer Pathways to the Liberal Arts. This initiative, which includes 25 partner institutions dedicated to enhancing support for transfer students, is a four-year grant program generously funded through the Teagle Foundation and Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. It focuses on expanding access and strengthening transfer pathways between Ohio’s community colleges and independent universities.

The "Transactional to Transfer-mational" Campus Mindset event marked a significant milestone in the program’s final year, as attendees explored strategies to sustain and enhance the progress made in building a robust transfer culture across the state.

Building Collaborative Transfer Pathways

Winnie Gerhardt, project director of the Ohio Consortium for Transfer Pathways to the Liberal Arts, opened the event by underscoring the critical importance of collaboration in higher education. She highlighted the Consortium's progress over the past four years in establishing clear and consistent transfer pathways, and emphasized the need for sustainable efforts moving forward. Attendees were reminded that building strong transfer pathways ensures not just smooth credit transfers but also long-term success for students transitioning from community colleges to 4-year institutions.

Transforming Transfer Culture

The event's keynote session featured two leading transfer experts: Heather Adams of Transfer Nation and Aurely Garcia Tulloch from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University. Their presentations focused on evolving the transfer culture from being purely transactional—focused on credit equivalencies—toward a more transformative approach. They stressed the importance of recognizing transfer students’ diverse backgrounds and life experiences, advocating for institutions to fully integrate transfer students into campus communities.

**Leading Experts on Evolving the Transfer Culture**

Aurely Garcia Tulloch, Community College Research Center at Columbia University and Heather Adams, Transfer Nation present at OFIC’s Transfer Pathways event.

Keynote Takeaways:

Shift from a credit-driven process to a holistic approach that values students' life experiences.
Build transfer programs that support not just academic transitions but also personal growth and community integration.
Strengthen partnerships between 2-year and 4-year institutions to provide seamless pathways for students at every stage.

Progress and Next Steps for Ohio’s Transfer Pathways

Throughout the day, participants shared best practices for maintaining momentum in creating effective transfer pathways. They also discussed the recent updates to the Ohio Guaranteed Transfer Pathways (OGTPs) for biology and English, ensuring students and transfer advisors have clear guidance for these key academic areas. These updates included changes to course recommendations and transfer requirements that align with the needs of both community colleges and 4-year institutions.

Drawing from the work of the Consortium, colleges have the tools to scale its work to other academic programs, deepen relationships between Ohio’s community colleges and independent universities, and explore the expansion of articulation agreements.

See What the Keynote Speakers Are Sharing on Instagram

Want to dive deeper into the insights from our keynote speakers? Heather Adams and Aurely Garcia Tulloch have been actively sharing thoughts, experiences, and updates related to transfer student success on Instagram. Follow them for a closer look at their ongoing work:

Transfer Nation (@wearetransfernation) – Discover national trends in transfer education and student success.

Collaborating for the Future of Transfer Students

The event concluded with a renewed sense of purpose. While the work of the Ohio Transfer Pathways project is nearing its official end, participants left with a shared commitment to continuing the collaborations that will benefit transfer students for years to come. Institutions across Ohio are now poised to build upon this foundation, ensuring that transfer students receive the support they need to thrive in their educational journeys.

Learn more at https://www.ofic.org/transfer-pathways.

Learn more

Event Recap: From Transactional to Transfer-mational – Shaping Campus Mindsets for Transfer Success through the Ohio Consortium for Transfer Pathways to the Liberal Arts