New advisors to ease transfers from CSN to UNLV

Leaders from UNLV and the College of Southern Nevada will announce a new partnership today that aims to make transferring to the university easier.

"You hear stories about students having trouble transferring," said Darren Divine, CSN's vice president for academic affairs. "A lot of times, it's because students haven't been given reliable information."

More than 1,000 students transferred from the college to UNLV last semester, Divine said. That is typical in recent semesters.

But it's not always easy. Sometimes, students take classes they don't need or classes that won't count for credit at UNLV.

Students don't always know whom to ask for help. CSN has advisers, but they don't always know the answers. It's the university that decides what transfers and what does not.

That's why the university is putting two transfer advisers on the college's campus this semester.

"I think that's a great resource," said J.T. Creedon, a former CSN student body president who transferred to UNLV last year.

He said it can be difficult to get in to see an adviser. And for students who aren't familiar with how the system works, it can be daunting.

John Valery White, UNLV's provost, said the university had advisers at CSN years ago, but budget cuts forced administrators to remove them.

Now, there will be advisers on CSN's Cheyenne and Charleston campuses, and the two will rotate in and out of the Henderson campus.

White said the goal is to make it easier for students to navigate the sometimes confusing process.

"We want them to have a clear view in mind of what steps they have to follow," White said.

He and Divine also said a goal is to help students graduate from CSN before transferring to the university.

"We found that our transfers who do best are those who've gotten an associate's degree," White said.

Increasing the number of graduates has been a goal at both institutions recently.

Divine said part of the new effort will be to track students who transfer to UNLV without earning an associate's degree from CSN.

If they earn the required credits for the associate's degree while at UNLV, they will be awarded the two-year degree, he said.

"If they've completed the requirements for a degree, we need to make sure they get it," he said.

Eric Lee, one of the transfer advisers, said he wanted the job because he believed it would allow him to help students. He has worked for the university since 2001, most recently as an adviser with the College of Fine Arts.

He said in the few weeks he has been on campus, he has been busy. That's despite the fact that school started only last week.

"It didn't take very long for the word to spread," he said.

Contact reporter Richard Lake at rlake@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0307.