University of Wisconsin System schools saw the highest number of transfer students in a decade last year, a trend that appears to be continuing into this year, a recent report found.

Last week, the UW System reported in the 2010-11 academic school year, 17,209 students transferred into or within the System. This is the highest number the UW System had seen in a decade.

In 2010-11, there were 2,201 students. This number continues to grow for UW in the 2011-12 year as well according to the most recent Data Digest, a specific analysis of various aspects of student demographics specifically for the Madison campus.

Thirty-seven percent of the students transferred between UW System schools, which are comprised of 26 campuses statewide, including 13 four-year universities and 13 two-year institutions. Students from out-of-state institutions formed the second largest share of new transfer students into the UW System, with 28 percent.

Annette McDaniel, an assistant dean in the Office of Student Life at UW, said the increase in transfer students is a national trend which is not unique to Wisconsin, with students more likely to attend multiple institutions before they graduate. 

“My personal opinion is that there are a variety of different things that are contributing to the national trend, one being the economy,” McDaniel said. “For example, many students are choosing the pathway of starting at a community college or institution closer to home where tuition or cost of living is cheaper before transferring.”

Aaron Brower, UW vice provost for teaching and learning, said the UW System is also becoming a more appealing place to transfer into due to increased communication and programming specifically for transfer students.

Brower added the school that students transfer to often already has developed transfer programs. UW hired several new advisers and deployed a new office for transfer students and transition issues, choosing to no longer include them with Student Orientation Advising and Registration, which Brower said was not satisfying transfer students’ needs.

“As a junior coming in, some of the issues may be similar to freshman, but some are very different. The more we attend to these issues, the better it is,” Brower said.

With increased resources, transferring between institutions has now become more clear and straightforward, according to Brower.

He cited the newly-developed Transfer Information System, which is a calculator for transfer students to electronically check which of their credits at previous institutions will fulfill requirements in UW, as one advancement.

The report also indicates that grade point averages of transfer students slightly exceed their “enter as freshman” peers. However, those who begin at a UW System school still had higher second-year retention rates, the rate of remaining with the same institution for a second year, than transfer students.

McDaniels added the growing number of transfer students at UW also brings an element of diversity into the student body.

“[Transfer students’] different life experiences lend something extra to the classroom experience,” McDaniels said.