Recent UW crunch makes transferring more challenging

The application process for transfer students presents an opportunity for change but coming up in spring, transfer students hoping to attend University of Washington will all be denied.

While transfer students were accepted during the fall quarter, UW closed its doors to transfer students for the rest of the year due to budget concerns.

The UW is currently over-enrolled and not receiving funding for more than 1,100 students. The projected funding reduction will take away about 13 percent of the university's state funding.

"Any cut on the budget will impact our already over-enrolled campus," says Phillip Ballinger, director of Admissions at the University of Washington.

Governor Christine Gregoire's proposed $3.5 billion cut to Washington state's public education funding is one of the many frowned upon attempts to make up for the state's budget shortfall in the upcoming biennial budget. Washington state's budget, currently in the revision process, will take effect July 1.

With the combination of an over-enrolled campus and expected funding cuts, the University of Washington has frozen admissions for transfer students for the upcoming spring semester. UW's student body consists of approximately 70 percent new freshmen and 30 percent transfer students, mostly from local community colleges.

"Admitting more students will only compound the enrollment problem. With the pending budget decision, all admissions will be affected in the future," says Norm Arkans, associate vice president of Media and Public Relations at the University of Washington.

Although the decision to not admit new students this spring seems unfair, Arkans emphasizes the problem that new students would not get the resources they deserve.

"Until the final budget has been signed by the governor in June, we can only estimate the adjustments that will need to be made, and hope for less," Arkan says.

At Seattle U, transfers make up 28 percent of the undergraduate population. Out of 4,026 undergraduates, 1,182 of those are transfer students. The majority of these transfer students, exactly 999, live in off-campus housing, while 183 students live in the residence halls.

"When I first got here, I was absolutely lost," says Alexis Gallegos, senior public affairs major and ASSU transfer student representative. "I had met very few people, felt absolutely lost, which I think most people can understand when they come into college, but I hadn't been to college in over 14 years, which is something most transfer students can empathize with."

Although the number of transfer students who apply to Seattle U has been falling since 2005 (1,587 applicants down to 1,280 applicants), their admission rate is still 10 percent lower than that of incoming freshmen. Transfers admitted to Seattle U total 55 percent versus the admission rate of 65 percent for new freshmen.

A total of 709 transfer students were admitted last quarter, of which 384 enrolled, compared to 3,266 admitted freshmen, of which 888 enrolled.

Transfer students generally come from the local Seattle and greater Washington area. They commonly spend one or two years in a community college such as Seattle Central Community College before deciding to apply to a university institution like Seattle U or the UW.

The bulk of these transfers to Seattle U enter the nursing program.

The announcement that UW would not take any more transfers for the rest of the year takes away many options an individual interested in attending school in Seattle would typically have.

Though University of Washington will turn away transfer students for the upcoming spring semester, Seattle U doesn't seem to be facing the same predicament. Seattle U, a private institution relying much more on tuition payments and endowments than federal funding, will not be cutting admissions for transfer students at all.

"We will not be cutting admissions in any capacity, especially when it comes to transfer students," says Matisse Fletcher, senior ASSU at-large representative who also works in Seattle U's Admissions Office. "We just aren't having the same budget issues that UW is having."

Programs to assist transfer students in transitioning into their new school, such as the ones offered by way of Commuter Student Services, are fairly uncommon.

"Seattle University, unlike many other campuses, at least has a program in place to accept and assist transfers," Gallegos says. "People here have to be mindful of the fact that a large portion of the community consists of transfer students."

Transfer students at Seattle U, just like commuter students and non-traditional students, enjoy the benefits of the collegiums' system. Collegiums offer transfer students, non-traditional students and commuter students special services and study spaces on a daily basis.

Recent concerns have sprung up regarding the McNulty Collegium, housed in the Lemieux Library. With the library's upcoming move, Seattle U will suffer the temporary loss of one of its collegiums.

Diane Schmitz is the director of commuter and transfer student services at Seattle U who, in addition to maintaining the collegiums, sponsors numerous events to attract transfer students to Seattle University.

A monthly luncheon series helps transfer students become involved in various programs such as study abroad, Student Activities and Career Services. An annual barbecue in the fall put on in conjunction with the Writing and Learning Center also assists in orienting new transfer students.

The Commuter and Transfer Student Services office serves as a central spot for transfer questions and resources. The office distributes transfer portfolios, which include academic and campus office information, a student guidebook, information on the Collegia Program, transportation resources, and childcare resources.