Transfer Students

What role is the Future Student visitor cast in or expected to play, and how is he or she cast that way; and what relationship is the rhetor establishing with the visitor - and how?

MSU Moorehead Site

• Roles Cast to Visitors: A recruit, someone who isn't happy with their school or is just looking for more opportunities. A child, the message that is sent from the screen to the student attempts to rid them of any worries about transferring, assuring them a smooth transition with ample staff to assist them.

Once clicking on the "Transfer" tab off of the future students page, visitors are immediately welcomed. The first three links on the menu on the left side of the screen are "Transfer Visits," "Admission Requirements," and "Application."

The paragraph of text in the middle of the page lets potential transfer students know that they won't be going through the transition to a new school alone: "about 40 percent of our students transfer here from other schools." The paragraph tells them that it will be a smooth, easy transfer because they have a close relationship with other colleges.

The image on the middle of the page, along with the bolded text next to it, makes it seem as though the university is waiting for the visitor to join them. The picture is a group of three students, with an outline of a body in the middle, as if the visitor is the student meant to fill that role. "We have a place for you at MSUM," written in bold, red text, accompanies the picture.

In case the picture, welcoming paragraph, and helpful links don't persuade the visitor to pursue acceptance to the University, testimony from a student is included on the right side of the page. The student describes how he transfered to MSUM for one reason, but found out that it had so much more to offer than he had thought, and caps it off with the line, "MSUM fits everything I wanted in a college experience."

Bemidji State University Site

• Role Cast to Visitors: Students who been through the college selection process before, who know what they're looking for in a school.

Bemidji's Transfer Students page includes links to applications, campus visit sign-ups, and campus facts at the top. It also includes a menu on both the left and right side, which include links to answer questions that potential applicants may have.

Two paragraphs down the middle of the page lay out the process one must take in order to attend BSU and any requirements one must meet in order to be accepted.

Comparison

While the titles of the pages are the same, MSU Moorehead and Bemidji State University take different approaches to their respective pages for transfer students. MSU Moorehead seems to be trying to assure their prospective transfer students that they will find an inviting and friendly environment when they begin their transition from another school, while Bemidji State seems to baby their visitors less.

This can be seen at the page layouts themselves, as well as the text of those pages. The MSU site has a picture of a diverse group of students, with only an outline of another, assuring the visitor that they'll belong, no matter what they look like. The text itself has a welcoming tone, emphasized by letting the visitor know that help is easy to find and the transition will be smooth.

BSU's site seems to give the visitor more responsibility in the process of making a transition from another school. While the Moorehead site provides direct links to the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum, while BSU provides the url but not a link. BSU's site also refers visitors to the MN Transfer Curriculum site regarding any questions, while the MSUM site gives a direct link to a staff e-mail address to refer questions to.