The National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition hosted it’s 32nd National Conference on Students in Transition virtually on Oct. 1-3, 2025. Held annually, this year’s 374 attendees marked the highest in the event’s recent history, with 263 participants joining for the first time. 

In total, 183 college campuses were represented during the conference, with attendance from 44 states plus Washington D.C. and three countries — Canada, Egypt and Taiwan. 

This year’s conference included more than 50 sessions over the three days, focusing on everything from supporting students through the middle years of college to the power of reflection and reimagining the orientation experience. Additionally, the conference welcomed Elon University’s Dr. Peter Felton and Regis College’s Dr. Heather Maietta for keynote speeches to open and close the event, respectively. 

“The National Conference on Students in Transition brings together higher education professionals from across the US — and the world — to discuss how we support students through all their key college transitions,” Executive Director Kate Lehman says. “While we frequently talk about the first-year experience (a very important transition!), this conference emphasizes other key inflection points in students’ educational journeys, like major changes, transfer pathways, and college-to-career or graduate education transitions.” 

The National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition is also in the process of releasing its next two research reports, which are free, open access publications. See the publication schedule below: 

• Research Report 14: 2023 National Survey on The First-Year Experience – Contemporary Strategies to Support Student Success 

• • Volume 1: Introduction and Background | Published Oct. 2025 

• • Volume 2: Living and Learning Together | Published Nov. 2025 

• • Volume 3: Guiding and Mentoring for Success | Published Dec. 2025 

• • Volume 4: Focus on the First Year | Published Jan. 2026 

• Research Report 15: Celebrating Students and Their Experiences at HBCUs | Published Dec. 2025  

Additionally, registration is open for the 45th Annual Conference on The First-Year Experience Feb. 15-18, 2026, in Seattle, WA. USC employees are eligible for a $150 discount off registration fees. Before registering, email the Center’s Conferences and Continuing Education team at fyeconf@mailbox.sc.edu to receive the waiver code needed to activate the discount.