OCTC Partners to Provide Virtual Transfer Fair

Owensboro Community amp; Technical College students who wish to transfer their credits or associate degree to a four-year institution will have the opportunity to connect with those institutions, ask questions and better prepare for their future during a Transfer Madness fair. Transfer Madness will be Thursday, March 26 from 1 p.m. 7 p.m. EST.

Transfer Madness is the only online, statewide transfer fair where students can chat online with transfer advisors, search for scholarships, download materials and get questions answered at a time that suits their family and work schedules. Application fees will be waived for those who visit a booth during Transfer Madness. The event is being sponsored by the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) and the Council on Postsecondary Education. This year 22 Kentucky four-year institutions are participating in addition to KCTCS.

There are many transfer scholarships available and we want our Associate degree students to explore all options to take advantage of these opportunities. Studies show Associate degree transfers have a higher graduation rate and grades equal to or higher than students who enter universities as freshmen. We truly feel their success is our success, and we want them to continue their education commented Dr. Larry Durrence, OCTC President.

Transfer Madness supports the Councils Stronger by Degrees strategic plan to improve the quality of Kentuckys workforce by increasing the number of students who transfer from KCTCS colleges to four-year institutions. One of the goals of House Bill 160 (2010) is to eliminate the barriers students encounter when trying to transfer to a four-year institution, and one of the barriers is a lack of information and engagement between students and transferring institutions.

Cole Hamilton has always wanted to be a farmer, even though he didnt grow up on a farm. With encouragement from his family, a local farmer, and his grandfather, he planted a grove of 50 pecan trees. Producing pecans is just one of his pursuits. A freshman at Owensboro Community amp; Technical College studying agriculture, he is one of the recipients of the Hager Civic Engagement Scholarship, and works part-time at the local Case IH dealership. Hamilton is also a proficient welder, and a past president of his FFA chapters welding team, Hamilton has built some of his own farm equipment and trailers, but recognized he needed more than just technical skills. After earning his associate degree he plans to transfer to Western Kentucky University.

In addition to the online fair, a KCTCS Transfer Madness Twitter Game is underway. The game is played in a typical bracket style by paring up the 16 KCTCS colleges against each other for a Sweet 16 tweet-off. The colleges are encouraging their students to tweet about where they plan on transferring to and include #kytransfermadness. The Sweet 16 round will run from Monday, March 16 Thursday, March 19. The following rounds will be played the following week leading up to the championships on Wednesday, March 25. For official game instructions visit: http://transfermadness.org/twitter-game/

To register and to view a list of participating Transfer Madness colleges, universities and education partners, visit www.transfermadness.org. Follow us on Twitter at #KYtransfermadness.