*Webinar Recording Coming Soon!*

Join the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition and Transfer Nation for an interactive Think Tank session, where we'll dive into hot topics, emerging trends, and pressing challenges in the transfer student space. Connect with colleagues, share ideas and experiences, and explore opportunities to move the conversation - and transfer student success - forward.

Faciliatators:

Tony Lazarowicz, Ph.D., Administrative Director, Transfer Initiatives - Southeast Community College

Heather Adams, Ed.D., Principle - Sova

Bernard Huggins, Senior Program Manager - Aspen Institute College Excellence Program

Emily Kittrell, Transfer Expert-in-Residence - National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition

Webinar Recording: https://youtu.be/oTZ0mFOusns

Transfer students already know how to “do college,” but that doesn’t mean they won’t need help understanding how things work at a new institution. The transition can be more difficult when communications are built around internal processes without fully accounting for transfer students’ needs. Transfer professionals across campus can serve as important “transfer agents,” using their institutional knowledge to help students make sense of unfamiliar systems and build confidence in navigating what comes next. In this presentation, we’ll briefly examine common questions and concerns that surface across the transfer journey and introduce a practical framework for aligning communication and support with what students need at different points in the process. Attendees will leave with a stronger understanding of the transfer student experience and a worksheet they can use to apply the framework to their own advising practices.

Presenters:

Maggie Segnitz, Ed.D., Director of Success Advising  - University of Central Missouri Emily Kittrell, M.S., Transfer Expert-in-Residence - National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition

Webinar Recording: https://youtu.be/dWcUh3N1-1U 

Join the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition to learn more about our new Transfer Student Research-Practice Partnership (TSR-PP) Seed Grants! Our Research and Grants team discusses eligibility requirements, the program criteria and structure, award package, budget considerations, deliverables, and more.

Webinar Recording: https://youtu.be/buKiu5jItfc 

What is it like to navigate the transfer experience as a first-generation college student?

Join us for this panel discussion featuring prominent higher education scholars and leaders Dr. Graziella Pagliarulo McCarron (George Mason University), Dr. Tiffani Riggers-Piehl (University of Missouri – Kansas City), and Lee Williams III, M.Ed. (Texarkana College) as they offer valuable insights into the opportunities, challenges, and support needs that shape the first-generation transfer student journey.

*Hosted by FirstGen Forward and the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition

Webinar Recording: https://youtu.be/F70kU_F3_Og 

Are you supporting a student as they begin the college search process or navigate their first months on campus?

Join The National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition for a panel discussion with prominent higher education scholars and leaders Drs. Dan Friedman, Matthew J. Mayhew, Joy Gaston Gayles, and Linda J. Sax as they share what they learned about college transitions as they parented their own children through them!

Moderator:

Kate J. Lehman, Ph.D., Executive Director - National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition

Panelists:

Dan Friedman, Ph.D., Assistant Vice President of University 101 Programs and the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition - University of South Carolina

Joy Gaston Gayles, Ph.D., Head of the Educational Leadership, Policy, & Human Development Department and an Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Professor - North Carolina State University

Matthew J. Mayhew, Ph.D., The William Ray and Marie Adamson Flesher Professor of Educational Administration - The Ohio State University

Linda J. Sax, Ph.D., Professor in the School of Education & Information Studies and Founding Director of Momentum: Accelerating Equity in Computing and Technology - University of California, Los Angeles

This webinar was not recorded

Join this exciting webinar with contributing authors as they share findings from the book Celebrating Students and Their Experiences at HBCUs*. The text centers the student experience and celebrates the intergenerational excellence of HBCUs. Engage in a critical conversation around HBCUs with scholars committed to HBCU success. Attendees are encouraged to download and read the book in advance, and bring written questions to the webinar, to engage in this celebratory and informative session.

*Funded by NASPA’s Advising Success Network and published by the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition.

Facilitators:

Jamil D. Johnson, Ph.D., Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Leadership, Learning Design, and Inquiry, Higher Education and Student Affairs, University of South Carolina

Jamila S. Lyn, Founder and Chief Student Success Strategist, Bottom Up Thinking Consulting

Webinar Recording: https://youtu.be/ZNXldzEI7ms 

Each October, National Transfer Student Week (NTSW) shines a light on the students who navigate new campuses and communities, carrying their learning and determination from one college to the next. It’s a moment to recognize transfer students, as well as the faculty and staff who support them along the way.

During this webinar, we:

• Launched the 2026 NTSW marketing kit
• Spotlighted programming ideas from campuses across the country
• Opened the floor for live Q&A and brainstorming with NRC staff members and other attendees

Presenters:

• Emily Kittrell, Transfer Expert-in-Residence, National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition
• Sarah Kane, Current Transfer Student, Vanderbilt University
• LaSean Jennings, Transfer Program Manager, Office of Undergraduate Admissions, Georgia Tech
• Campbell Keele, Coordinator, Transfer Initiatives, Office of Student Engagement, Missouri State University
• Kimberly Dressler, Assistant Director, Carolina Experience, Carolina Experience Office, University of South Carolina

Webinar Recording: https://youtu.be/IzgSRBFbXDo

Discover how thoughtfully designed peer mentoring can be a game-changer for low-income students’ success as they transition to college. This webinar shares compelling mixed-methods evidence of an effective peer mentoring model that boosts students’ confidence, sense of belonging, and clarity about their academic and career pathways. Learn how this high-impact peer mentoring program moves beyond basic check-ins to deliver proactive, validating, and holistic support that meets students where they are and sets them on a path for success. Walk away with actionable strategies to design or strengthen peer mentoring initiatives that meaningfully expand students' support networks on your campus and promote a successful college transition.

*Held in partnership with the Pullias Center for Higher Education, Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California

Presenters:

• Joseph Kitchen, PhD., Associate Research Professor, Pullias Center for Higher Education, University of Southern California.
• Zoe Corwin, PhD., Research Professor, Pullias Center for Higher Education, University of Southern California.
• Jennifer Harvey, Senior Director, Thompson Scholars Learning Community, University of Nebraska, Kearney
• Angel Cante, Peer Mentor, Thompson Scholars Learning Community, University of Nebraska, Kearney

Webinar Recording: https://youtu.be/odqEKSmpq-E 

This Think Tank featured a small group of institutions offering brief spotlights on the specific strategies they are using to reach students (in advising, success courses, cross-campus collaborations, and other areas), followed by open discussion where attendees could trade ideas, surface shared challenges, and consider what intentional transfer partnerships might make possible.

*A Transfer "Think Tank" session held in partnership with Transfer Nation

This webinar was not recorded

The National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition facilitated a conversation with transfer champions as part of our acquisition of the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students (NISTS). Our Transfer Expert-in-Residence, Emily Kittrell, presented a series of questions via PollEverywhere to get a better idea of what the Center should focus on when it comes to our more transfer-focused work going forward.

Webinar Recording: https://youtu.be/dt0JWG6ZhoU 

The National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition hosted a welcome webinar for transfer champions as part of our acquisition of the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students (NISTS). Members of the Center's leadership team provided updates from their area of the Center (Conferences and Continuing Education; Research and Grants; Resources and External Relations) and what they're brainstorming for transfer work in the very near future.

This webinar was not recorded

Dr. Annie Kelly, Editor of Insights for College Transitions, hosted a panel discussion with the authors of the fall 2025 issue of Insights. Each author spoke on their article and associated research and participated in a moderated Q&A session with all attendees.

Webinar Recording: https://youtu.be/yuqjbT6S8l8 

Dr. Kevin Wenger, Ed.D., Research Analyst for the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Student Transitions, provides an overview of the 2025 Paul P. Fidler Research Grant. Topics discussed included eligibility requirements, what makes a strong application, and more.

Webinar Recording: https://youtu.be/LAj2xtFpg_E 

Dr. Dallin George Young, Assistant Professor for College Student Affairs Administration and Student Affairs Leadership at the University of Georgia, and Dr. Bryce D. Bunting, Assistant Dean and Director of First-Year Experience at Brigham Young University, discuss selected topics from their bestseller, Rethinking Student Transitions: How Community, Participation, & Becoming Can Help Higher Education Deliver on its Promise.