Students who transfer to NIU with sophomore standing usually do not do as well as transfer juniors and seniors already set in their majors.

Dan House, a research associate for NIU’s Institutional Research, said students that transfer to NIU as sophomores tend to have lower grade point averages and graduation rates than sophomores that began at NIU.

James Russell, NIU’s Community College Relations coordinator, said, “Students who come (to NIU) as sophomores do not do as well as some of the other transfer students.”

“During the first semester (transfer) students experience transfer shock until they learn their way around. Academic performances usually fall and then return to be about the same as those students already here. Sophomore transfers’ performance drops, and it doesn’t seem to recover as well,” Russell said.

NIU performed research on which types of students have better GPAs in response to the budget cuts, Russell said. NIU was looking for places to tighten up enrollment if necessary, he said.

NIU has not reduced the number of transfer students admitted, Russell said.

House said the total transfer enrollment was 1,960 and 725 were sophomores in the fall of 1986.

“In essence, the trend is that students who transfer late enough to be classified as juniors show higher GPAs,” House said.

“I think juniors and seniors have accumulated enough experience to jump right in and make the transition more smoothly,” House said.

The “shock effect” of being at a new school seems to be less dramatic at a junior or senior level, he said.

“Sophomore transfer students aren’t necessarily doing any worse (than native NIU students). They may be taking different types of classes than native sophomores,” House said.

Russell said transfer sophomores trying to get classes also have problems since classes are given on the basis of previously earned credit hours.

House said it is difficult to conclude how well transfer students are doing at a sophomore level because some students are still completing general education requirements while others are already beginning a major course of study.

Russell said sophomore transfer students “tend to be more undecided.”

Age might be a factor in the success of transfer juniors and seniors as compared to sophomores, Russell said. “The older students have more experience figuring out how the system works,” he said.

Wayne Albrecht, College of Business assistant dean, said business transfer students come in for a separate orientation and advisement.

“At that time we deal with them and make them aware of expected differences being at a larger school,” Albrecht said.

He said, “After the first semester they move right into the mainstream.”