Students who transfer often less involved
CMU transfer students say the lack of outreach and free time keeps them from participating in campus programs.
And it seems to follow a national trend.
Transfer students are less likely to become involved in community service or campus activities, according to a recent report by the National Survey of Student Engagement.
Many said they have no incentive to join because they live off-campus, their friends are not involved or there is nothing useful in their field.
Carl Erickson, a Whittemore senior and Western Michigan transfer student, said he is not involved in any campus groups.
Erickson’s choice is based on a lack of focus in his field of study.
“I wanted to get involved in pre-med groups here at CMU because I had a lot of friends in pre-med, but the pre-med club never brought in any optometrists, which is what I am going into,” he said.
Erickson also said his heart was not in the pre-med group and he therefore did not want to become a member.
“Everyone was just joining in the group to have it look good on the résumé and I wasn’t going to be part of a group like that,” he said.
Mark Ferguson, Jr., a Holly senior and Oakland Community College transfer student, said he also is not involved with any campus groups.
“I was unfamiliar with them when I came to Central,” Ferguson said. “A lot of my time is focused on academics and being unfamiliar with groups, or anyone who is a member, gave me no motivation to join any.”
The Office of Student Life was unable to provide data regarding transfer student involvement. Other major student groups, such as the Student Government Association and some Greek organizations, also don’t keep track of how many members are transfer students.
Other transfer students argue there are not as many involvement opportunities as the university advertises.
Holly senior Liz Bradshaw, who also is an OCC transfer student, said there were few obvious opportunities to become involved when she transferred to CMU.
“Although I could have taken the initiative myself, I wasn’t really interested, and studying consumes almost all of my time,” she said.
