Credit: DKS Editors

Freshmen and transfers are not the only students who will be new to campus in the fall. Students from Kent State’s seven regional branches decide to make the transition to the main branch each year.

Randall Lennox, institutional research specialist for Research, Planning and Institutional Effectiveness, said approximately 14 percent of freshmen who begin their Kent State academic career at a regional campus become students at Kent campus.

Randi Schneider, director of enrollment management at Kent State Trumbull, said approximately 10 to 15 percent of the student population at the branch transitions to the Kent campus each year.

Regional campus students often know they will have to transition to the Kent campus when they begin their program, Schneider said.

“As much as we might like to offer every degree that Kent can offer here at Trumbull, as you might imagine it would be simply impossible to offer 200 degree programs on a regional campus,” he said.

For example, a student who wants to be a teacher can typically earn the first 25 to 50 percent of his or her college credits at Trumbull campus, Schneider said.

Joel Morales, junior hospitality management major, said he had to transfer to main campus after one year at Kent State Trumbull because the branch did not offer classes in his major.

Lisa Burton, junior middle childhood education major, decided to transfer to main campus in Fall 2008 after taking classes at the Tuscarawas and Stark branches.

Burton said the small class sizes and the tuition at the regional branches were positives. However, the branches were too far of a commute, and she couldn’t complete her major at them

Students who attend classes at a regional branch can save thousands of dollars by taking a year or two of classes before transitioning to main campus, Schneider said.

Classes at regional campuses are $217 per credit hour, compared to $384 per credit hour at the main branch. Schneider added regional campus students do not pay room and board or for expenses such as parking.

Schneider said although many students must transfer to Kent campus to complete courses in their major, many students transition to Kent because they are seeking the residential environment that a regional campus does not of

“The regional campus didn’t really give me the college experience I wanted,” Burton said. “I just went to my classes and left, so there wasn’t much time for social interaction.”

Junior marketing major Chelsea Munroe, who transitioned from Kent State Trumbull, said her older sister, a main campus student, introduced her to the campus and made the transition less intimidating.

“I had the feeling that I would be lost,” Munroe said. “It still took me a while to know how to get around the campus.”

Morales said he recommends transitioning students get involved as much as possible in the beginning of the transfer so they will be forced to adjust early on.

Burton, whose twin sister already attends Kent State’s main campus, said she is looking forward to the independence of living in Kent.

Schneider said it is important for a student to find his or her niche and complete a degree, no matter what branch they complete it at. Completing a college degree changes the trajectory of career success and lifetime earnings, Schneider said.

“The ‘one-two punch’ of having both a large campus in Kent and the smaller regional campuses makes Kent State a place where students can find success in whatever combination that makes the most sense to them,” Schneider said.

Contact regional campuses reporter Rebecca Odell at [email protected].