Where's The Rest of Quest?
Graphic By: Rachel Thomason

I transferred to Radford University two years ago from New River Community College. Part of my orientation to the University was Transfer Quest. It was here I registered for classes and received financial aid information. This past summer, I worked three Quest sessions for freshmen, representing Student Media. The difference I saw between the Freshmen Quest and the Transfer Quest was shocking.

There were things similar about the two: registration was taken care of that time, people were able to obtain financial aid information, and various university offices discussed the services they provided. Curiously, any aspect of student life here at Radford University was not represented at the Transfer Quest. Greek Life had no tables, neither did Black Awareness, and ditto for Student Media. None of the campus religious organizations were represented, nor was ROTC. What gives?

I sincerely doubt that the University does not want its transfer students to get involved. Yet I feel that by not letting the students know of these programs, the University is slighting these students and not giving them a fair opportunity. Granted, they could find out about these clubs and organizations in the catalog or something, but I feel that by not having these groups represented at a time when students will be interested in such things is bad on the part of the University.

"Get involved, get involved," is a mantra that is constantly espoused to college students. "You'll get more out of your education, you'll make many friends," are some of the benefits they tell you of getting involved, and I'll be the first to agree with them. My time with Whim and Exit 109 have provided me with experiences and opportunities that I never would have had otherwise. Unfortunately, I found out about none of these at Quest.

Responses:
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Year: senior
Major: RCPT
Comments:
Due to quest being hosted over the summer months, clubs and organizations are unable to attend. however, shortly after school starts the university host a club fair. It is at this time that new students can travel around campus and find clubs that interest them.

Name: jeff
Comments:
Hello, my name is Metaphor. :)

The fact that something is a challenge is not relevant anymore. It's understood, it's known, it's not a reason. These things should have been fixed a long time ago. To say there are a lot of challenges involved is no longer a valid argument for the problem being not being solved.

What was Shaun asking for? Representation. What can we do about that? Let the clubs and organizations show up. That's not challenging at all. The people do the rest, we don't need bureaucracy to shuttle us around. The only challenge I see is getting rid of the irrational rationality that makes the progress so slow.

Name: rachel
Comments:
jeeez jeff, that was kinda rude...and unrelated to the issue i must say.

Name: jeff
Comments:
So there are challenges involved, eh? Gosh, that just changes everything doesn't it? There's a challenge in changing the oil on a car too.

Name: Marc Jacobsen
Year: Assistant Director
Major: New Student Programs
Comments:
Thanks for your comments. You are not the only one concerned with the services provided to transfer students. I too would like to provide more opportunities and more information to transfer students. However, developing a program which meets the needs of all transfer students is quite challenging due to the various "types" of transfer students. There are students transferring after one semester all the way through 7 or 8 semesters. There are commuter students vs. resident students. There are those who work and are taking time off to attend the transfer program and simply want to register and get back to work. I'm not making excuses, just trying to explain the challenges involved. This past spring/summer, we held 5 transfer registration sessions, and after each session, we made modifications to the program to better meet the students' needs. This fall our office conducted several focus groups, with one specifically for transfer students, and of the 15 who told us they would participate, 3 showed up. Even so, their feedback was helpful. We are continuing to look at this issue, and hope to provide a more robust program this spring/summer. Again, thank you for your comments.