NIU News

NIU’s Office of Community College Initiatives and Office of Orientation and First Year Programs invite you to join in celebrating National Transfer Student Week Oct. 20-24. This festive week celebrates the achievements and contributions of transfer students at NIU and highlights our ongoing commitment to transfer student success through engaging activities, resource programs and campuswide celebrations.

The university community will be able to show support at events where transfer students will have the opportunity to connect with their peers, faculty and staff, who will all come together to show their community college pride.

Featured events include NIU Day at Harper College on Tuesday, Oct. 21 and McHenry County College on Thursday, Oct. 23. NIU Days at community colleges strengthen transfer pipelines by bringing university resources, staff and alumni directly to students where they are – creating early, personal connections that simplify the path to a four-year degree. These events highlight NIU’s commitment to collaboration, access and student success, ensuring every transfer student feels supported from their first conversation to graduation.

Show Your Community College Pride Day Wednesday, Oct. 22 gives students, faculty and staff the opportunity to gather on campus and celebrate their community college roots by taking photos with their alumni school pennants. This event celebrates the powerful role community colleges play in shaping students’ educational journeys and strengthening the bridge to NIU, and highlights NIU’s intentionality to honor every pathway that leads to Huskie success by bringing together transfer students, alumni, faculty and staff in a spirit of pride and connection.

As a transfer-friendly institution, NIU was recently named as a member of the 2025 Phi Theta Kappa Transfer Honor Roll for excellence in community college transfer pathways. Our Office of Community College Initiatives is working to increase opportunities and resources for transfer students, including:

Outreach and Engagement: Strengthening collaboration with community colleges, employers and alumni through early, consistent and student-centered outreach that builds clear academic pathways aligned with regional workforce demands.
Pathways and Partnerships: Strengthening transfer agreements and collaborative partnerships through a data-driven approach that enhances credit transfer, advising and mentoring to foster belonging, boost retention and support degree completion from community college to career.

“We’re thrilled to celebrate our transfer students during this weeklong celebration,” Rodrigo López, executive director of Community College Initiatives said. “Transfer students are a key part of our student population, and our office is dedicated to helping them succeed, throughout their NIU experience and beyond.”

Our Office of Orientation and First Year Programs helps transfer students adapt to life at NIU by encouraging attendance in activities, workshops and programs to support them and help them integrate into the campus community.

Orientation is where students first see themselves as part of the Huskie community, and our work doesn’t stop there. We’re continuing to build a network of people, programs and experiences designed to help every new student, especially transfers, find their place and thrive at NIU.

“Through post-orientation initiatives like transfer-focused Week of Welcome programming and the extended First Year Success Series, which includes National Transfer Student Week, we create ongoing opportunities for students to connect with their peers, explore campus resources and strengthen their sense of belonging,” Jenna Pracht, director of Orientation and First Year Programs said. “Together with partners like the Office of Community College Initiatives, we’re creating a seamless transition that celebrates where students come from and invests in where they’re going.”

Here is a list of on-campus National Transfer Student Week events and opportunities:

Monday, Oct. 20