Transfer students now have their own ‘living room’ to congregate and rest between classes. (photo: Karl Maasdam)

Nestled on the south side of Halsell Hall, the Transfer Student Living Room has cozy couches, a friendly workspace and a big screen t.v. It doesn’t look much different from a family living room, if a bit tidier, but that’s the point of the new space. For the more than 4,800 transfer students attending classes at Oregon State University’s Corvallis campus, the space provides a unique opportunity for students not just to put up their feet during breaks, but to interact with other students who share the transfer experience.

Unlike traditional freshmen who spend their first year at Oregon State immersed in the “First-Year Experience” that grounds them firmly in university culture, resources, and traditions, transfer students lack that comprehensive introduction. They may come with a transfer degree from a community college, a few credit hours under their belt from a state university, or anything in between. They range in ages and backgrounds, and only truly share one characteristic, their academic paths led them to Oregon State.

The Transfer Student Living Room was created after several focus groups of transfer students said they wanted a space to socialize and relax. The space was funded by a grant from the Student Affairs Innovation Investment Fund through University Housing & Dining Services, Enrollment Management and the Division of Undergraduate Studies. Erin Mulvey, who was hired this summer as the Transfer Transitions Coordinator at Oregon State, oversees the space, and is working to align different resources for transfer students into a comprehensive support program.

“Transfer students know how to ‘do’ college,” Mulvey said. “Our job is to get them accustomed to OSU. I like to say that they speak college, but OSU is a particular dialect.”

In focus groups, transfer students report feeling disconnected, and don’t have a strong familiarity with Oregon State resources. They also lack the bonding with other students that traditional freshmen receive during the First-Year Experience. The living room space is just one way to help them feel integrated and supported at the university.


The Transfer Student Living Room is located on the south side of Halsell Hall.

“Oregon State University is part of a larger movement across the country recognizing that transfer students have unmet needs and trying to address those,” Mulvey said.

Ben Medeiros, assistant director for residential education with University Housing & Dining Services, said the university put out a call to other universities in the early planning stages of the transfer living room, and said they found no one offering a space quite like the living room, which is open both to transfer students living off campus, and those housed in Halsell Hall, which has devoted a wing of its first floor to transfer students.

UHDS, Student Affairs and Enrollment Management are working together to bring transfer students to campus, and then create an environment where they feel supported. The university now offers a transfer student course called UEXP 399, which is offered fall term to transfer students and is similiar to some of the UEngage courses that freshmen receive. Mulvey said individual colleges on campus also offer a variety of programs aimed at transfer students, and the Academic Success Center also works with transfer students. But now that Mulvey is overseeing the program, it will be easier to pull all the disparate parts together to offer a more comprehensive network.

“In our conversations with transfer students, they say they don’t necessarily feel they have a community here,” Mulvey said. “This living room is a space for them to find people who are like them.”

~ Theresa Hogue

For more information: http://uhds.oregonstate.edu/housing/transfer-students-living-campus