Saturday, April 26, 2014
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Transfer student accommodations, a place where improvement is needed
Getting
into Maryland is an exciting time, for some
Kaitlyn Anuszewski, sophomore education major,
transferred to Maryland this past semester just squeezing her way into the
university’s South Campus Commons apartments. Transfer students can have a hard
time finding on-campus housing, let alone making their way through University
of Maryland’s large campus. She’s found she’s had to fend for herself with her
professors not being a large help.
“I’ve had to ask students what to do to in some of
my classes,” Anuszewski said. “The professors expect a lot out of me and I only
just got here.”
Now meet Austin Carroll, senior business major, who’s
made every last minute count at Maryland from joining a fraternity his first
semester to the various clubs he’s involved in. However, Carroll did find it
hard to navigate the large campus when he first came here because he did not
know who to go to about problems or concerns.
“You’re at a disadvantage with everything,” Carroll
said. “Transfers have to play catch-up.”
In Carroll’s experience, the university only had a
day for registration for transfer students and that was just about all they
had. A major fault was not knowing the resources on campus. On a campus of
over 30,000 students, there are many places to go to seek out information,
but for transfer students like Carroll and Anuszewski, they would not know
where to go.
The
Institute of Applied Agriculture’s adds a personal touch for its transfer
students
A two-year program with Maryland balances the large
campus with a personal approach. When their students, especially transfer
students, first visit staff members personally take them around the campus. Director
Glori Hyman believes the Institute of Applied Agriculture welcome all of their
students in the same way.
The IAA’s small staff allows them to personalize
each students’ experience. All they have to do is walk down the hall in their
college into Carole Dingess’ office to find out who they need to talk to or
figure out a problem. Every staff member is also an advisor, making it easier
for the student’s to have someone to go to. These staff members are also their
professors.
Improvement
can come from both sides
“A lot of it comes down to the individual schools,”
Carroll said.
Carroll commends the Robert H. Smith Business School
for starting to create more of a welcome for transfer students with a class
that only transfer students can sign up for to welcome activities.
Hyman believes that even the IAA could improve on
how they welcome their students.
However, not all of the blame lies with the university and the individual colleges.
"It's really up to the individual at the end of the day to get involved in things that any normal incoming freshman would," Carroll stated.
Certain individuals are more proactive than others, according to Carroll, which can drastically change how their time is at Maryland despite any challenges coming in as a transfer student.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)