Initial Publication Date: June 14, 2016

2YC-4YC Collaborations Serving Transfer Students

Both formal and informal collaborations between 2YC and 4YC faculty help to create and maintain a sense of community and network of support for transfer students.

Communicate with Local Four-year Institutions

Like all relationships, strong collaborations between 2YC and 4YC faculty and institutions require strong communication in both directions. Here are some ideas for maintaining strong connections with local colleagues.

Advertise opportunities - Network with local institutions to find out about career days, guest speakers, seminars and workshops on all campuses.
Communicate with 4YC colleagues - Establish regularly scheduled meetings with local 4YC partners to dialog about the effectiveness of transfer programming.

Investigate Research Collaborations with Four-year Institutions

Undergraduate Research
with 2YC Students »Research opportunities are a great place for 2YC faculty to look for collaborations with local 4YC colleagues. Many community colleges lack the resources for large-scale research projects that are more readily available at four-year institutions. This can also be a great way to create or strengthen a pipeline for students to learn about and make connections at a 4YC where they could transfer.

El Paso Community College and the University of Texas El Paso have developed a very close working relationship where students from EPCC can work on research projects with faculty and other students at UTEP. The InTeGrate project has profiled what this relationship looks like from the perspective of both institutions (EPCC | UTEP) with particular emphasis on how the programs increase participation of Hispanic students in the geosciences.

An aquatic environmental science field course co-taught by Allison Beauregard of the Mattie Kelly Environmental Institute at Northwest Florida State College and Matthew Schwartz of University of West Florida brought GIS research skills and technology (field collection of data with a variety of instruments) into the course. Dr. Beauregard highlights the benefits of this collaboration in her essay from the 2012 Workshop in Tacoma.

Facilitate Social Interactions Between 2YC and 4YC Students and Faculty

Fostering opportunities for social interaction between 2YC and 4YC students can be a powerful way of easing the way for students who want to transfer. It can be intimidating for two-year college students to contemplate going to a new school where they don't know anyone and have no experience of how the "system" works. (Reyes, 2011) Social interaction with students and faculty at four-year institutions in the area can help reduce this anxiety. For example:

Coordinate campus visits of local 4YC—Although 2YC and the 4YC to which 2YC students transfer are often geographically near each other, 2YC students may be intimidated to visit the 4YC campus on their own. Take 2YC students to campus, show them available resources, and introduce them to 4YC geoscience faculty.
Foster social interactions—Encourage students from 2YC and 4YC programs to interact through shared geology club events (e.g., camping trips, field trips, community outreach events).