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In commemorating the first anniversary of 福利导在线观看鈥檚 Tartan Transfer agreement, Felicia Ganther turned to a unique source of inspiration 鈥� the producer DJ Khaled and his triple-platinum single from 2010, 鈥淎ll I Do Is Win.鈥�

Ganther, the Virginia Community College System鈥檚 senior vice chancellor for academics and workforce programs, was the keynote speaker at the Tartan Transfer Summit, an Oct. 23 luncheon at The Highlander hotel, a gathering that recognized and reflected upon the collaboration among 福利导在线观看 and eight Virginia community colleges, including Mountain Empire, Mountain Gateway, New River, Patrick and Henry, Southwest Virginia, Virginia Highlands, Virginia Western and Wytheville.

The Tartan Transfer agreement is designed to ensure that junior college students experience smooth and successful transitions as they take the leap to attend Radford, and this fall semester, the university welcomed its first student to enroll through the program. In the meantime, across the eight partner schools, 59 students have also submitted their declaration of intent to apply, while another 45 have requested inquiry forms.

At the top of her address to the schools鈥� officials, Ganther quoted Khaled鈥檚 hit, specifically the refrain in which he announces, 鈥淎ll I do is win, win, win!鈥� Then she unpacked the repetition within that lyric.

鈥淜haled could have just said, 鈥楢ll I do is win,鈥欌�� she mused. 鈥淲e all know what the definition of 鈥榳in鈥� is, so it is not necessary for him to say 鈥榳in鈥� more than once, but in this particular song, he says it three times.

鈥淭hat is a whole lot of winning,鈥� she noted, then localized the focus of her observation: 鈥淭he reality is that the win for the Tartan Transfer program requires more than just one win; it requires three wins. It requires a win for Radford, a win for the Virginia Community Colleges and, most importantly, a win for the transfer student.鈥�

When Radford and the state鈥檚 community college system came together in November 2024 to sign their articulation agreement, she explained, they were declaring a shared belief that every Virginian deserves a clear and affordable pathway to a bachelor鈥檚 degree, and that the institutions in the partnership could work together to make that real.

鈥淭oday, one year later, we gather not to simply mark the program鈥檚 success, but to affirm its future, to strengthen the bridges we built and ensure that students across the commonwealth will continue to cross these transfer bridges with confidence,鈥� Ganther said.

鈥淭his summit 鈥� our first of what I know will become an annual touchpoint 鈥� is happening at an important moment for higher education, especially here in Western Virginia,鈥� she continued. 鈥淎cross the nation, we face what many have called the demographic cliff, a steady decline in the number of traditional students.鈥�

As that population shrinks, she said, competition for enrollment intensifies, even as campuses experience greater diversity, and students and their families question the return on investment for higher education.

鈥淎gainst this backdrop, the Tartan Transfer program stands as a bold and hopeful answer. It proves that when universities and community colleges act as partners, instead of competitors, we can expand access, reduce barriers, restore confidence in the promise.

鈥淲e have eight [community] colleges represented,鈥� she noted. 鈥淭his is exactly what it takes to sustain transformation. People from every corner of the educational experience coming together to align goals, share strategies and innovate on behalf of our students, because together, we are creating a future where the road from aspiration to achievement is open, supported and celebrated.鈥�

Indeed, the meeting also doubled as a workshop in which attendees broke into concurrent groups to discuss what they鈥檝e learned over the past 12 months. Individual sessions were held by the colleges鈥� advisors, by student success and admissions officials, and by the presidents and chief academic and enrollment officers. The summit concluded with summaries of those conversations.

Topics at hand included creating a cohesive 鈥渢ransfer roadmap鈥� that would offer students direction and answers in advance; a transfer peer group among advisors that could hold periodic virtual meetings; and a student ambassador group.

Others said they considered the financial obstacles students often must overcome and the mental health challenges they can face, as well as such practical considerations as housing and work responsibilities.

鈥淲e started talking about some of the barriers that students have as they transition, focusing on what those are,鈥� said Austin Pryor, Virginia Western Community College鈥檚 coordinator of retention and student success. 鈥淚dentifying them is a big part of making sure our students are successful.

鈥淚 think one of the great things about the Tartan Transfer is that we are lengthening the runway to transfers for students; we鈥檙e having them think about it from day one. We can be intentional, knowing what those challenges are.鈥�

New River Community College President Robert Brandon said his group focused on unified communication.

鈥淥ne thing I think is important: consistent messaging from the community college advisors through Radford鈥檚 advisors,鈥� he said, to ensure that 鈥渨e鈥檙e all on the same page, we鈥檙e telling students the same things, we鈥檝e got the same ideas.鈥�

鈥淭he Tartan Transfer is a great model,鈥� Brandon said, 鈥渂ecause it begins a regional conversation. It brings us all together to talk about how we can build this regional ecosystem that helps students get into professions.鈥�

Provost Bethany Usher and President Bret Danilowicz also spoke, with Danilowicz underscoring the importance of community college students who intend to transfer earning their associate degrees first.

鈥淚f students get their degrees before they transfer, it makes a world of difference,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f I remember right, 86% of the students who come in with associate degrees then graduate from 福利导在线观看.鈥�

The president also thanked the visiting representatives.

鈥淭he suggestions that came out help us make and implement differences that support our students,鈥� Danilowicz said. 鈥淎s a region, we can work together to find better solutions for creating pathways for students that also stay in our region for their whole careers.鈥�