Transfer & Adult Student Academic Success

Transfer and Adult Students – You’re Welcome Here

Transfer and adult students contribute to UNC Greensboro’s academic excellence and diversity. You support our mission of being a learner-centered, accessible, and inclusive community. You’ve found your way here and you’re welcome here. 

By the numbers:

• Fall 2022, 1493 new transfer students were admitted to UNCG.
• Almost half of all graduates each spring began at UNCG as transfer students.
• 34.2% of new transfers were 25 years old or older. 
• 62.8% of new Fall 2022 transfers came from NC 2-year colleges and 20.4% came from NC 4-year institutions.
• About 32% of our new transfer students chose to enroll in one of our online degree programs.

Transfer and Adult Student Experience

As a new transfer or adult student, you may experience some transition challenges that first-time-in-college and traditional-aged students also experience. We want you to know and access the services, programs and resources available to you. Transfer and adult students are such an important part of the UNCG community, and it is important that you know your value and contribution. To that end, we officially celebrate our transfer students every third week in October as part of National Transfer Student Week (NTSW).

Steps for Academic Success

You’ve heard the saying that the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. As a transfer or adult student, your academic success is supported by many offices and resources. We do not expect you to be an expert regarding every process or be familiar with every resource. We’ll help you in taking those bites.

Prior to Enrollment

The foundation for academic success begins before you arrive on campus. Offices across campus collaborate to provide essential resources and services to our transfer and adult student populations in ensuring much needed information is provided prior to your enrollment. Within the Division of Enrollment Management, several departments such as Undergraduate Admissions, Financial Aid and the Registrar’s Office stand ready to answer initial questions.  

Important tools or resources for transfer and adult students include:

Undergraduate Admissions – What application pieces are needed? Are there secondary admissions requirements for your intended program? What does it mean to be a transfer or adult applicant? From inquiry to application to admission, get your questions answered. 

Transfer Credit Information – What does it mean to have a formal transcript evaluation? How can one know if courses will transfer? Is there a degree plan if transferring from a NC community college with an AA or AS? What should one know about various transfer credit policies? These questions and more are addressed.

Transfer Promise – If you’re interested in a unique co-admissions program, designed to provide community college students working toward an A.S. or A.A. degree (at select NC community colleges) to complete their studies at UNCG, earning a bachelor’s or accelerated master’s degree, look no further. We have partnered with our colleagues at Guilford Technical Community College, Forsyth Tech, Alamance Community College, and Wake Technical Community College to make transferring to UNCG as seamless as possible for students interested in transferring to UNCG.

Once Admitted and Enrolled

Ancient Spartans were known as highly skilled warriors. As a UNCG Spartan, you will be known as a highly skilled investigator and seeker of information. We expect transfer and adult students to utilize resources as needed. In fact, it’s a disservice when you do not. 

Spartan Orientation, Advising, and Registration – Located within the Division of Student Success, New Student Transitions and First Year Experience (NST & FYE) plays a pivotal role in acclimating you as a new transfer or adult student into the university environment through SOAR and Navigate, among other activities and events. 

Connect regularly with your academic advisor. They are positioned to work with you as you develop your academic and career plans. You will receive information from your academic college or school. Exploratory advising is handled through the Students First Office. More information is available at Undergraduate Advising – Division of Student Success (uncg.edu)

Whether the resource or tool is available through Student Affairs (with supports such as Career & Professional Development, Office of Accessibility and Resource Services, Intercultural Engagement), The Division of Student Success (which includes the Academic Achievement Center, Multiliteracy Centers, Students First Office), the advising centers (located in each of the four professional schools, the three Colleges, and within the Students First Office), or other divisions/departments such as ITS (best known for its technical support services), access is open to all UNCG students. For a detailed listing of all services, click on each of the links.

Get Involved

Can transfer and adult students join organizations? Participate in club sports? Engage in leadership opportunities? Most definitely! In fact, transfer and adult students are expected to participate and share their voices in helping to shape the growing UNCG community. One organization specific to transfer students is Tau Sigma, an academic honor society designed specifically to recognize and promote the academic excellence and involvement of transfer students. Transfer students must have completed at least 24 hours at their previous institution and earned 12 credit hours at UNCG in the preceding two semesters with an earned GPA of 3.5 or higher. 

Spartan Connect, UNCG’s co-curricular involvement system, is designed to help you get connected on campus, document that involvement, and connect that involvement to scholarships, graduate school and post-graduation employment. And, if you don’t find what you’re looking for, create it. Be that change.

CONNECT, a themed residence life community, is designed to assist new transfer students in merging with the UNCG community for a successful transition academically and socially. CONNECT is open to new transfer students with 24 or more credit hours. Transfer students who will enter at a first year to second year status are strongly encouraged to apply.

Transfer2Transfer Mentors

Transfer2Transfer was made possible with initial funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates funded Frontier Set Initiative. UNCG has partnered with Mentor Collective to provide peer mentoring for first-year transfer students. First-year transfer students are paired with a transfer student mentor who is at least in their second year at UNCG. The program, Transfer2Transfer Mentors, helps build community and a sense of belonging among UNCG’s transfer population. Almost 40% of UNCG’s undergraduate population began their academic career at another institution. This program provides a source of connection, support, and point of contact for students as they transition to academic life at UNC Greensboro.

Through the partnership with Mentor Collective, mentors are trained in how to serve as a mentor and are provided with discussion guides to help seed conversations with their mentees as well as information about UNCG resources and services. 

This program is managed by the Division of Student Success. You can follow the program on Instagram at uncg_transfer2transfer.

General Inquiries can also be directed to Transfer2transfer@uncg.edu.

Transfer2Transfer FAQ

Community College Partners

Research suggests that more students are choosing to start their academic journey at community college and for many, this is a financial decision. Due to inefficient transfer pathways, articulation agreements, and misalignment between pedagogy and curricula, time to degree and student costs increase. At UNCG, we have partnered with multiple community colleges – see our Transfer2Transfer program. Through this collaboration, UNCG has created efficient transfer pathways with aligned curricula and pedagogy; removed the surprises of credit application and classroom expectations; and improved time to degree completion. The ultimate goal is that all transfer students have the opportunity to fully become Spartans by engaging in the hallmarks of a “four-year” college experience such as on-campus housing, undergraduate research, and internships despite economic barriers.

Why UNCG?

UNCG is uniquely positioned to serve first-generation, low-income, rural, and underrepresented minority students. These students disproportionately begin at community college. We have a history of closing the achievement gap between Black and White students and graduate Pell recipients above the national average. UNCG is ranked in the top 20 nationally for social mobility.

But don’t take our word for it, see how these Spartan transfer students found their way to UNCG.