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Metro offers change of venue for thousands of transfer students
By Michael Godfrey
mgodfre3@mscd.edu

More than 4,000 students transferred to Metro last year, making the school one of the most popular transfer schools in the nation, according to the Colorado Commission of Higher Education.

A study published by the CCHE showed that during the 2005-2006 academic year, more than 15,000 students transferred to schools in Colorado, with Metro receiving 4,455 of them. While the majority of these students were from Colorado colleges and universities, more than 1,500 were from out-of-state institutions.

Metro gained a total of 1,227 students from other four-year institutions around the state, with the highest number of accepted students, 263, from Colorado State University. The rest of the 1,581 in-state transfer students came from two-year schools. Also, Metro transferred out a total of 384 students, with the most, 58, going to CSU.

“Over 60 percent of new students enrolled each semester at Metro are from other schools,” said Vaughn Toland, associate director of Transfer Services at Metro.

Toland said some students transfer because they are dissatisfied, for whatever reason, with their prior schools.

“Students transfer for a lot of reasons … mostly because the four-year school they originally enrolled in wasn’t what they thought, or just that the school seemed too hard,” he said.

Students are attracted to Metro’s low tuition, small class size and the convenience of getting to and from the downtown campus, Toland said.

“Students transferring from community colleges don’t want to move into a huge campus, and Metro is the perfect option for them: not too big and not too small.”

Metro student Francisco Elizalde said his living situation was the reason he transferred.

“I chose to go to Metro because I didn’t want to live in dorms. I just wanted to be close to home and the city,” Elizalde said.

The increase in transfer students this year was not unexpected. Because enrollment was below projected levels at the beginning of this fall, Metro encouraged transfer students to apply, Toland said.

“We made an effort to call or e-mail the students who had expressed an interest in transferring but hadn’t done so yet, and we got a huge rush of students late in the semester, so we know the program works well,” he said.

Metro has seen an increase in the number of transfer students accepted since 2002. The Transfer Services office was started 10 years ago after the school realized transfer students needed an office dedicated to their needs, Toland said.

“We offer a lot to the students who come in for help. We offer advice on what classes to take … ensuring the transfer of their credit, and we work closely with each student to help them through the entire process, addressing any concerns they might have,” he said.

Metro is constantly recruiting at community colleges around the state.

“The presence we make at these schools helps us remain an option for the students,” Toland said.