UCSD Biomedical Library Hosts New Transfer Resource Center

UC San Diego opened a new Transfer Success Hub in the Biomedical Library’s Events Room on Monday, February 10, followed by a week of events to commemorate the opening.

According to the Transfer Success Hub’s inaugural Program Manager Jackie Duerr, the Transfer Success Hub will be in the Biomedical Library through August 2021. Ultimately, the Transfer Success Hub will be placed into the Pepper Canyon Neighborhood, where transfer student housing will be relocated starting 2022.

The new transfer center was announced in October 2019, with the purpose of supporting UCSD’s transfer students who comprise roughly one-third of the total student population.

Duerr told The Triton that the temporary location of the center in the School of Medicine should not be an issue, due to the on-campus shuttles and her efforts to organize workshops around campus throughout the year.

Duerr hopes to launch an online information hub for transfer students to quickly access the resources the new center will offer to accommodate their schedules.

Transfer students will have access to transfer-specific academic advising through the center. According to Duerr, these services are intended to help transfer students feel comfortable and understood as they make the transition to a large campus like UCSD.

“Finding a place where students can find people who are doing similar things as they are, or having similar experiences as they are, can be very powerful, it can remove a potential feeling of isolation that transfers sometimes feel,” Duerr said.

Emily Kardously, a third-year transfer Psychology major, told The Triton that she initially felt overwhelmed and unsure of her path at UCSD. She hopes that the new transfer center will be a valuable, transfer-specific advising resource.

“When I went to my transfer orientation for Revelle [College] at the beginning of [Fall Quarter 2020] it was led by a non-transfer student,” Kardously said. “That was my first introduction to my college, and he couldn’t answer any of my questions about being a transfer student here. It was disheartening to feel unsupported.”

The co-chair of Transfer and Re-Entry Students (TRES), Jose Cardenas, told The Triton that transfer students face unique issues such as stricter course plans, family obligations, full-time jobs, and less time to meet their educational goals.

“Once a transfer begins their education at UCSD, [they are] on the ground running. The limited amount of time you get forces many transfers to completely push everything UCSD has to offer to be able to graduate in time,” said Cardenas. “‘Rushed’ is a word that I commonly hear when speaking to other transfers about their college experience.”

Cardenas also said that assigning transfer students to live outside their undergraduate college makes it more difficult to adjust to life at UCSD. Cardenas explained that UCSD’s college system, and the UC system in general, are structured in ways that are more conducive to traditional four-year students compared to transfer students.

 “I think that under the right leadership the center can be a conduit that pushes the administration to involve transfers in dialogue regarding the future of UCSD,” said Cardenas. “The transfer resource center not only should be a common space where transfers can feel a sense of community, but also a space that advocates for issues pertaining to transfers.”

Jules Brütsch is a Staff Writer for The Triton. You can follow her at @BruetschJules.