Should transfer students have to participate in same transition program that freshmen must take part in at Blackburn College? The First Year Transition Cohort program is geared towards the incoming freshmen straight out of high school, not to students who have been in a college environment before.
The program is designed to help all first-year students at Blackburn transition to college life. By introducing them to skills they may need in the future. These skills—including resilience, interpersonal communication, ability to reflect upon experiences and setting present and future goals—will help them in the work program as well as in different areas after college life. Students are expected to gain an appreciation for working in a diverse community, while respecting others and maintaining their self-respect. With this program students will also be connected with their peers, student leaders, faculty and staff on campus.
Each week, the students will gather with their cohort groups and discuss different topics including: inclusivity, time management, stress and learning versus failing. The students will receive an hour of work program credit for attending each week’s session.
In an email, Blackburn student cohort leader Stefanie Scheuermann said, “I think it will be successful for the students and I also think that it will significantly help with students who are struggling. Not only is it a way to help students better transition, but it also lets them know that there is help on this campus. It gives them a mentor that they could possibly be more comfortable with.”
Transfer students may not necessarily need to be in the same program as those who have never been to college before. The transfer students already have some knowledge of college life. They know about the stress of classes and how to manage their time. Although these students may not need the program for aspects of college life, they may need a program geared more towards Blackburn and the work program. Transfer student do not need the current Cohort program, which focuses more on students who have never attended college.
While the FYT Cohort program is meant to be helpful to new students, the transfer students may be hindered. Instead of having one program for all new students, Blackburn may want to consider having a separate program for individuals who are not new to the college life. Transfer students and incoming freshmen do not have the same needs when coming to Blackburn College. Transfer students should be treated as such and not as an incoming freshman who has no idea what college life entails.