Student
services solves transfer troubles
By Jane Park
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
Each spring semester, 600 transfer students are admitted to Cal State Long Beach.
When new CSULB students arrive on campus, there is an area of confusion. The
quest to adapt to the new college environment that is typically much larger and
broader than most community college campuses can be a struggle for most transfer
students. Students getting ready to attend CSULB for the first time this spring
have many problems leading to frustration with their new college and environment.
Dilemmas due to CSULB departments Web sites not being updated, how to deal with
the crowded parking and finding their way around campus are problems students
have faced.
Ryan Murphy, a Riverside Community College transfer, said the whole aspect of
getting information at CSULB was difficult for him. He went to SOAR and CSULB
day, but said “The my.csulb.edu Web site was not easy to navigate.”
“ The general information was hard to find,” Murphy said.
Murphy wanted to find information from the business department about getting
into an impacted major, but it was out-of-date.
The school’s campus of about 35,000 students makes transfer students nervous
about starting a new semester at CSULB.
“ It’s kind of hard to find the buildings. Parking is hard too,” said
accounting major Sharlyn Garcia, a recent junior transfer from Long Beach City
College.
“ [Transferring has been] very confusing. There is a lot of confusion with
parking, classes, and where to get help,” said Filiz Osman, junior transfer
student of Fine Arts from UC Santa Barbara and Santa Monica College.
“ CSULB provides services of the CSULB Web site and the convenience of
applying online,” said Tom Myers, the director of CSULB Admissions. There
is also University Outreach and School Relations, programs that speak to students
and provide guidance counselors to assist students.
According to Amir Nia of USOR office, they can help transfer students with transfer
admission workshops, tours, open houses and pamphlets of information about how
to adjust to campus life. He suggests students to go to the actual department
office to pick up information about major requirements and programs and ask questions
instead of referring primarily to the Web site.
Students Relations Specialist for Admissions, Odenah Angeles, said to get to
campus an hour early before classes to find parking because it is so limited.
Student Orientation, Advising and Registration is another program that can help
transfers to adjust to the campus.
“ There are special SOARs just for transfer students,” said Myers.
“ SOAR provides information on university policies, details and specifics
of Long Beach State,” Ben Haeuser, junior of Music Education and S.O.A.R.
Academic Adviser. “SOAR also helps students register for the first time.”
“ [The transfer SOAR program has students] meet with the Faculty Adviser
from their department,” said Haeuser. “A lot of [transfer students]
are not able to have the classes they need.” SOAR benefits students by
giving them an earlier registration date than their given date.
|
