First Transfer Fair draws interested students

By Steve Koehler

A steady stream of students from Ozarks Technical Community College took advantage of the College’s first Transfer Day Thursday and considered their options in continuing their education future at the four-year institution.

The fair, sponsored by the College’s Enrollment Management office, allowed students to meet with representatives from 27 colleges and universities from Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

“There was a lot of good information here,” said Sterling Kromas of Marionville, who has his associate of arts degree from OTC and is looking at various medical fields for future study.

“This was a good event to have. It had information I didn’t have already. It helped me narrow my choices down to two schools.”

 Vicki MacDonald, director of enrollment and recruitment at the College, said the idea for the fair was to expand the transfer desks already on campus for Missouri State and Drury universities.

“Why not have all the reps here. More and more students are coming to OTC because of the costs and are transferring to four-year colleges. The students want to be knowledgeable about where they can go,” MacDonald said, who added that the fair would become an annual event.

“We want to start a tradition,” she said.

Kim Houston, coordinator of transfer admission for the University of Missouri-Columbia, said about 40 percent of the transfers there are coming from the community college ranks.

“We are looking to the future for sources of students. High school graduation rates are expected to go down so we are looking to the community colleges for enrollment,” she said. “This fair is good because it prepares them for the next step.”

Caitlin Westkamp of Nixa, a second-year OTC student from Nixa, staled with Houston about enrollment possibilities.

“I’m getting ready to pick a school. I’ve switched from teaching to nursing and am looking for a school to go to. MU is one I’m exploring,” she said.

Jim Snyder, outreach coordinator for Pittsburg State University School of Technology, said the programs offered at OTC are compatible with the four-year degrees offered at Pittsburg State.

“OTC has good accreditation. We’re checked their credentials,” Snyder said. “This is a good way for students who don’t know what’s what out there. For us, it’s a perfect fit. It’s like a glove.”

Steve Koehler is coordinator of publications at Ozarks Technical Community College.