Readiness, recruitment, and retention

This case study describes and analyzes a collaborative, zine-making project between transfer students and university faculty. The goal of this project was to improve the academic success of both current and incoming transfer students. Faculty and students assumed distinct but determinative roles in the project’s execution. While faculty organized the project, transfer students took the lead role in the zine’s content, focusing on “tips and tricks” for a successful transition. The 14 students involved in the project represented six different institutions from which they transferred. The faculty member was concurrently employed by the university at which the event was held and a local community college. The project’s ultimate product—the zine—is written by and from the perspective of these transfer students. Each phase of the project from conceptualization to publication and distribution of the zine is recounted and critically examined herein.