Registrar’s transfer team wins statewide support staff honors

By Dan Bodene, contributing writer

Part of what makes a university great is a great support staff. And the transfer team of Oakland University’s Office of the Registrar is an award-winning example.

The team, which provides services to OU’s transfer students, recently won Outstanding Support Staff honors for 2010 from the Michigan Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (MACRAO).

The team was cited for its accomplishments in three areas: improving community college catalog reviews and transfer guides, and its excellent overall service to students.

Members of the team included Laurie Presti, Cheryll Kress, Jill Lawson, Loretta Presti, Irene Edgett and Darlene Boutwell.

“The transfer team in the Office of the Registrar is committed to providing the best possible service to transfer students,” said Registrar Steve Shablin. “I am pleased that colleagues from other Michigan institutions recognize the good work we do on a daily basis for our students.”

In the summer of 2009, the transfer team began developing a more streamlined process for reviewing community college catalogs. Up to that point, reviews could take weeks or even months. After launching the new process in September 2009, reviews were updated in record time for nine community college catalogs.

Team member Laurie Presti said, “The fact that we now have a transfer articulation team dedicated to working together and meeting weekly to evaluate transfer coursework has been the biggest factor in the success that we have experienced in the last year.” 

She said the team has met with faculty members to learn what they look for in a course to determine if it is transferrable. The team initially reviews transfer materials and then forwards its preliminary decisions to faculty for final approval.

Laurie Presti also said OU benefits from having close relationships with Oakland Community College and Macomb Community College, with whom OU has concurrent enrollment programs.

To improve the transfer guides produced by OU, the team met with various stakeholders inside and outside the university who use the information in the guides. From their feedback, the team created a “wish list” of items, which helped in updating the guides.

“In addition to these initiatives, the transfer team continued providing excellent service to students without additional staff,” said Tricia Westergaard, associate registrar. She noted that in a time when more emphasis is being placed on transfer students, the transfer team played a significant role in the maintenance of transfer information.

The award for 2010 was presented to OU’s transfer team at MACRAO’s “Recharge in a 2.0 World” workshop in Lansing. Last year, OU’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions support staff won top honors.

Information on student transfers is available at the Undergraduate Admissions website.