New Smartphone App Helps Students Navigate UC Transfer Process

The University of Cincinnati today launched a smartphone app specifically designed to help students from two-year colleges navigate every step of the transition process to obtain a four-year degree.

Transfer Guide

, an app designed to serve as a comprehensive resource for transfer and transitioning students, is the latest in a series of measures UC has taken to eliminate uncertainty from the transfer process.

“Community colleges provide an affordable avenue to the baccalaureate, yet the transfer process to a bachelor-college remains convoluted, complicated, and complex,” said

Eileen Strempel, senior vice-provost for academic affairs

. “Our success with transfer and transitional students allows us to double the number of underrepresented minorities graduating from UC with bachelor’s degrees. This is highly-replicable model that we hope to see on campuses nationwide.”

Developed with student input, the app includes easy-to-follow, sequential checklists that help would-be transfer students complete each necessary step in the process. Nearly 2,000 students transferred or transitioned to UC’s uptown campus in 2016, and about 40 percent of UC’s 2014-15 graduating class came to main campus from a community college or regional campus.

Available for free on Google Play and the App Store, the Transfer App provides a host of resources for students considering a move to UC’s main campus. In addition to maps and information on key subjects that include student life, public safety, and campus resources, the app also serves as a direct conduit between prospective transfer students and the

University’s Center for Pathways Advising and Student Success

.

“The Transfer App will make it even easier for community college students to pursue a bachelor’s degree by demystifying the transfer process,” said Donnie McGovern, director of the Pathways Center, which provides academic advising and resources for transfer and transition students. “At Pathways, we strive to create and sustain a culture of welcome and belonging for new transfer students through personalized referrals to leadership opportunities, student organizations, and identity groups.”