National Student Transfer Effort Launched

The National Articulation and Transfer Network (NATN) has launched a newly enhanced membership organization dedicated to serving community colleges and four-year institutions in an effort to increase the number of transfer students, particularly among historically underserved student populations.

According to a recent press release:

The core focus of NATN is to operate as a national research and policy development resource to help students, counselors, administrators, researchers, and policymakers better understand the process of transferring. Through its enhanced Web site and other broader initiatives, the organization is working to establish comprehensive, nationwide transfer policies among higher education institutions and policy leaders to enhance access and success. Some examples of NATN’s activities include documenting and disseminating best practices, providing data on current transfer trends, contributing to national higher education dialogues, hosting forums for policy discussions, and linking policy to transfer student outcomes.

Another key initiative of the organization is the NATN Student Portal, which serves as an online tool that addresses the needs of all transfer students and helps counselors who offer students advice on their educational opportunities. The site includes customizable search options to help better match students with the best-suited institutions. Students may also browse through critical information on admissions, financial aid, housing, testing and assessment, and transfer requirements. Through its partnership with the Alliance for Equity in Higher Education, the NATN Student Portal also includes access to the organization’s more than 350 minority-serving institutions—Hispanic Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Tribal Colleges and Universities.

Funded in part by Lumina Foundation for Education, NATN is a major initiative of the Alliance for Equity in Higher Education and IHEP. The Alliance is a national coalition that serves the shared interests of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, and National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education.