The Washington State University Office of the Provost is working on laying out new programs through a taskforce, the Transfer Clearinghouse, which will assist transfer student’s transition into the WSU system.

“The goal is to increase the number of transfer students on campus and make the process as seamless as possible,” said Waylon Safranski, Assistant Director of the Transfer Clearinghouse.

The Clearinghouse group, a taskforce commissioned by Provost and Interim President Dan Bernardo, is in the process of opening a transfer center on the WSU Pullman Campus and launching a general transfer information website and email hot line where students and advisors can send emails with specific questions about the transfer process.

“Clearinghouse is sort of the umbrella for all the other things under that,” Assistant Vice Provost Susan Poch said. “We’ve all been tasked with working on the transfer process, system-wide.”

The new programs will be for advisors and students to have better access to evaluation tables and general information to streamline the transfer process.

“Pullman campus really doesn’t have a location or one-stop shop for transfer students,” Poch said.

Poch said the biggest challenge for transfer students across all campuses, especially students with incomplete associate degrees, is credit.

“We’re providing more avenues for parents, students and academic advisors to get their questions answered,” Poch said.

In addition to the transfer website, the taskforce is also working behind the scenes with the organization behind myWSU, Enterprise System Group, to develop a program that will evaluate transfer credit before potential students apply.

“We’re trying to be more proactive so they know what to expect before they get here,” Safranksi said.

These programs are available to students transferring from other universities, community, technical, and military colleges as well as students with college in high school credits.

The taskforce would also like to increase engagement opportunities for transfer students.

“We would like to give transfer students a little bit more of an identity on campus,” Safranski said.

Poch said the system-wide transfer information website should be online by spring semester and the other projects should be operational by fall of next year.

Reporting Rebecca White