By Patrick Greenwell

Jackie Washington wasn’t always a Cardinal.
The junior sociology major who transferred to the University of Louisville from Cambellsville University her sophomore year chose to come here because, as a bigger city, Louisville offered more career opportunities.
“It was fairly easy to transfer, since all of my credits transferred.” said Washington.
Last year the Kentucky General Assembly began enacting a plan to improve education in the state by the year 2020. Part of the plan calls for increased graduation rates from state universities and higher learning facilities. With the already large numbers of freshmen, the U of L has put attention on increasing the number of transfer students.
One important source of transfer students for U of L is the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, specifically those at Jefferson Community and Technical College.
Four years ago, U of L changed its original transfer system, Pathways, to the improved ULtra program, initiating a number of programs in conjunction with JCTC to promote a seamless transfer for students.  
Through ULtra, U of L advisors are brought to the JCTC campus on a regular basis to provide advice for future transfer students.
“U of L cannot afford to lose any potential student if we are going to compete,” said ULtra Director Kathleen Mandlehr.  “We have to start recruiting early. We need to help transfer students feel connected to U of L.”
The program also allows JCTC students to buy U of L student I.D.’s, use the campus gym, join campus intramurals, and attend campus events. Campus tours are offered specifically for ULtra students on the fourth Friday of every month to familiarize students with the campus. Beginning in 2009, JCTC ULtra students will be also be allowed to live in U of L dormitories.  
However, with so much of the program’s efforts focused on JCTC students, some transfer students from other schools feel that they are at a disadvantage.
“There are too many hands in the process and no one ever knows what’s going on,” said senior communications major Aleta Shaffner. “It’s easier for them to send someone to a voice mail to get erased.” 
Shaffner, who began her transfer from NKU to U of L in the fall of 2006, ended up not being successfully enrolled at U of L until the summer of 2008. Aleta’s problems began when the transfer department lost her transcript.
According to Shaffner, who called the department everyday, she was informed that due to her missing transcript she would not be able to register for the fall semester. Even when she went to the department in person, she was denied enrollment for the spring semester because she lacked updated transcripts.
However, even after enrolling in summer classes and completing the fall 2007 semester, Aleta’s troubles were not over.
The department lost her final transcripts, preventing her from enrolling and graduating in the spring semester. Though she was set to graduate in December, the delays caused her to miss the financial aid deadline, meaning that she had to pay out of pocket for her last semester.
“It’s important that U of L get their act together because they are losing potential students,” said Shaffner. “I don’t recommend U of L to anyone and I know I’ve persuaded at least four people to go other places. If other transfer students are telling their stories and dissuading people from going to U of L, U of L is, essentially, costing themselves millions of dollars and their own reputation.”
She also felt that had she been able to speak directly with an advisor, as is the case with JCTC students, before transferring, and have them help push her along the process, it could have been made much simpler.
Washington shares the same sentiment. “In some areas I recall doing a lot on my own. I didn’t really do anything with the program,” said Washington. “Maybe an advisor would help in making the transition.”  She also felt that a transfer student advisor could have informed her on exactly how her status as a transfer student would impact her ability to get involved on campus. “I sat out on several activities on campus,” Washington said. “My GPA didn’t transfer, so I had to wait a year. I wasn’t made aware that my GPA wouldn’t transfer.”
In addition to the difficulty of getting involved in activities, she had a difficult first semester because, as a transfer student, she had to register last for her classes. Moreover, having never been taught how to use Ulink, the registration process was completely new to her.
Mandlehr does acknowledge that the program is not perfect. She admits that the process is messy to begin with, and, with the ULtra presence there, it is much easier to transfer from JCTC. 
“A lot of people are really working hard to address these issues,” said Mandlehr. “The worst thing we can do is pretend these things don’t happen. The best thing we can do is actively work with students to make things better.”
Last semester, a survey was given out to all new transfer students to gauge their satisfaction with the transfer program. At the end of the semester, a survey was handed out to see how transfer students fair in their new surroundings.  
Sophomore geography major Megan White transferred from Butler last semester, and found the process to work well overall.
“It’s pretty cool how they are really involved in trying to get you to be a part of the campus, sending out a newsletter to let you know what’s going on,” said White. “I don’t always read it, but it’s just nice to know that it’s there.”