How we Incorporate RISES Values into our Work with Prospective Transfers

Neumann University’s educational core is established on five key values: Reverence, Integrity, Service, Excellence, and Stewardship. The RISES Values. The RISES Values are present beyond the classroom. They extend over the entire Neumann Community. Here are some examples of how Neumann University Faculty and Staff incorporate the RISES Values into their day-to-day work with prospective and current transfer students.

R – Reverence:

Reverence goes beyond just respect. Reverence is about seeing and appreciating the value in something. At Neumann, we embrace the value, knowledge, skills, creativity, and diversity that transfer students bring to the table.

This is apparent from the moment that a prospective transfer student inquires about Neumann. Transferring is not a process that happens behind the scenes. Prospective students are brought into the conversation from the very beginning. By the time a student decides to transfer to Neumann, they will have already had the opportunity to speak with Admissions, Financial Aid, Academic Advising, Faculty, Deans, and more!

I – Integrity:

Integrity is about more than just honesty. It is about holding true to your morals and your values. As a transfer student shopping around at prospective institutions, it may feel like schools are doing whatever they can to try and sell you, take your deposit, and get you into the door. Maybe at your prior institution the experience you received was not the experience you were sold on. Maybe that is why you are looking to transfer in the first place.

At Neumann, transfer students are more than just numbers. We aim to help transfer students reach their personal, professional, and academic goals, whether that be at Neumann or at a different institution. We never encourage students to transfer into Neumann if it will not be the best fit for them in the long run.

This is illustrated through the fact that we make all of our resources available to prospective transfer students before they make the commitment and put down their deposit to attend Neumann. We are pleased to be able to offer free, preliminary credit reviews to students at the time of acceptance. Some schools will not evaluate a student’s transfer credits until the student makes the commitment to transfer to that school. Our Faculty and Deans are always willing to talk to prospective transfer students more in depth about their transfer credits in order to give students the full and accurate picture of what the academic experience at Neumann will be before they make the decision of whether or not to transfer.

S – Service:

At Neumann, we aim to serve the unique needs of our transfer population. We know that cost is of the upmost important to transfer students in determining where to complete their bachelor’s degree.

We are pleased to have a Community College Partnership Full-Tuition Scholarship Program. Currently, we offer two full-tuition scholarships each year, one to a graduate from Camden County College and the other to a graduate from Delaware County Community College. We hope to expand this program in the coming years to support graduates from additional community colleges. What is important to note, is that these two full-tuition scholarships that Neumann offers each year are the only full-tuition scholarships that Neumann awards, and they are both given to transfer students. This program is something that Neumann has in place specifically to serve the transfer population.

Neumann also offers $3000/year Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Scholarships for transfer students who have been invited to join their respective chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK). This is one of the largest PTK Scholarships in the region and Neumann is proud to be able to offer this scholarship to celebrate the academic successes of PTK students.

E – Excellence:

What we say about ourselves at Neumann needs to be taken with a grain of salt. As a prospective transfer student, you want to see concrete proof that Neumann recognizes the needs of and effectively supports transfer students. Neumann has been a recipient of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Transfer Honor Roll for the past three years. This means that we are consistently in the top 25% of schools nation-wide based on how we serve our transfer population. To receive this award, we are evaluated annually in six areas including admissions criteria, cost of attendance, transfer student data, campus life, transfer recruitment practices, and peer review.

We take pride in this award, and we aim to continue to make the Transfer Honor Roll year after year.

S – Stewardship:

At Neumann, we aim to establish our voice and our place within the transfer community. We work hard to facilitate strong relationships with all of our neighboring community colleges and with transfer counselors and advisors at other local four-year schools. Neumann is actively involved with the Transfer Admissions and Advising Committee (TAAC), a conglomerate of transfer professionals from two-year and four-year schools within the region. Neumann will even play host to the annual TAAC Conference in 2024. This is one of the only conferences that runs workshops and programming specific to serving the needs of the transfer population. Neumann works actively with PTK Connect, and we take advantage of professional development opportunities with organizations such as The National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students (NISTS).

All of these efforts allow us to keep up to date on the trends and grow and evolve in our role as stewards of the transfer population.