Written By Julie LaDuca
Many students around this time get overwhelmed with the idea of moving on and their options. Colleges are putting out information on transferring all the time, but the students who face it are drowning in final assignments. Most just expect they have to do it on their own even after meeting their advisor. The information is not always as clear as it should be and there’s a few different options not talked about enough.
College is such a sacred time within a student’s life where any decision they make at any given moment affects their future massively. This puts a lot of pressure on the student to know what they want to do and still manage to come out on top with grades. While there is support available, college is naturally mentally taxing on the brain. The transfer process has a lot to do with this as most students in their first years of college find the process long and unpleasant. According to InsideHigherEd, “The report’s findings reflect the experiences of 8,836 students surveyed at 40 different community colleges in fall 2022 and indicate that students encountered difficulties in the transfer process that hindered them from transferring or made it more onerous and frustrating.” If the process is always confusing and frustrating how can students better their own lives?
Everyone knows the basic transfer process. A student gets enough credits in, then graduation. Now what about in case the student makes the transfer jump first before graduating. Oftentimes it’s from a two year school into a four year school where they still have a bit of credits needed to complete their certification. There is a special part in this where the student can actually finish out the major they started at the two year school if they meet the certain qualifications. This is known as a Reverse Transfer. A Reverse Transfer gives the student credit for the classes done at the four year school, and adds it as credit to their original major. According to the SUNY Niagara Transfer Office, “Our transfer credit policy still applies and students can only transfer back a maximum of 50% of the credits required for the 2 year degree or certificate, so it is more beneficial to students who may have transferred to a 4 year school further along in their major at the 2 year school.” This creates a huge amount of opportunities for transfer students especially, when they decide to move from two years to a four year school. Not many students know about this specific transfer opportunity so as the December break approaches ending the first semester it’s important to know there’s multiple opportunities.
SUNY Niagara provides different forms of transfer help through advisors and office hours. There is a transfer website on the SUNY Niagara page that gives some information along with areas to submit transfer requests. There’s also contact information for the Records Office and Advisement Questions specifically. Transferring and organizing credits doesn’t always have to be a headache.
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