Monday, January 02, 2006
Easing the transition to USI
 Adam Henderson is a college-age student considering enrolling at Ivy Tech Community College. He also is looking at academic programs at University of Southern Indiana. A family member told him to talk to Nancy Dauby, USI assistant director of Admission, who is located at Ivy Tech. It is Dauby’s job to meet with Adam and other Ivy Tech students who want to obtain a bachelor’s degree at USI after completing an associate degree at Ivy Tech. She creates a dialogue with each student. She listens and interprets how she can best help the student. Dauby’s position is new for USI. Eric Otto, director of USI Admission, learned from Dr. Deborah Garrett, dean of Student Affairs at Ivy Tech, close to 60 percent of Ivy Tech graduates wanted to pursue a bachelor’s degree at USI. He knew a transfer counselor position would help ease the transition for these students. Dauby can relate personal experiences from her college career at USI to students she advises. A 1999 graduate, Dauby is originally from Tell City. She was a scholarship recipient, and she was selected as a student ambassador for the Office of Admission. She served as an orientation AMIGO for the Office of Student Development, and she participated in Student Government Association. She also was a member of the first class in the then- new social sorority Gamma Phi Beta and gained leadership training through the O’Daniel Leadership Academy. Her degree is in education, and she was a computer teacher at St. Benedict Cathedral School for five years and a training consultant for USI Extended Services for one year. In the new counselor role, Dauby reviews with the transfer student the USI application for admission. She tells the student about applying for financial assistance through USI. Transfer students also must have on file official transcripts from the high school attended and from any colleges attended. Dauby helps with questions about this process. Dan Schenk, chancellor of Ivy Tech Community College in Evansville, feels the timing is right for this transfer counselor position because it fits into Ivy Tech’s expanded mission to provide more opportunities for Ivy Tech students to transfer to USI. He said, “It’s quite supportive to hear comments from Ivy Tech faculty who have already noticed a difference in having an on-site presence to assist Ivy Tech students with questions about transferring to USI.” USI President H. Ray Hoops supports the liaison with Ivy Tech Community College. President Hoops said, “The Ivy Tech role to prepare workers for industry changes and to encourage graduates toward advanced diplomas is parallel to the USI teaching priority. This can only help the state’s efforts to streamline the higher education system.” Dauby meets with students individually as much as possible. During such meetings she and the transfer student complete a degree checklist together. She said, “The checklist offers a visual summary of how possible a bachelor’s degree can become. We check off what courses have been taken and determine what courses still need to be taken to satisfy requirements. Transfer students are eager to develop this guide to an attainable degree. She emphasized, “I’m not here to replace the academic advisor. I’m the first step to starting a discussion about getting a four-year degree at USI.” In December she and 13 Ivy Tech medical assisting students toured USI’s Health Professions Center and talked with faculty and current students in the Health Services program. Kevin Valadares, director of the USI Health Services Program, said the visiting students sat in on a class; received a demonstration of Blackboard, a computer platform faculty use to deliver instruction; and toured campus. He said, “Our hope is that many of these students come to USI and fold right into the baccalaureate program. The articulation agreement between USI and Ivy Tech facilitates this process, and we focused on the academic realities of being a USI student and the opportunities that the four-year degree affords.” Dauby said the trip to USI offered a calming effect. “USI no longer has the overwhelming, larger university image,” she said. “Students discovered classes are similar in size to Ivy Tech classes, that USI professors are approachable and concerned about them, and that USI students are similar to Ivy Tech students.” She finds it remarkable how her student worker responsibilities in the late 1990s are influencing her current career. As a student worker, Nancy worked for Mary Branson, credentials analyst in the Registrar’s Office. She said, “I learned about the transfer process from Mary. I learned how to evaluate a transcript to determine course matches. Mary was so helpful to me; I consider her my mentor.” That Dauby’s career portfolio contains skills that match her current job responsibilities is a lucky coincidence for Ivy Tech students who want a four-year degree. Dauby can be reached at 812/429-9864 or ncdauby@usi.edu if you want more information about the transfer process. |
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