Program Status: Complete

PSU partnered with Portland Community College to participate in the Aspen-AASCU Transfer Student Success Intensive, a year-long program for leaders and teams from both institutions to develop scaled plans to improve transfer student outcomes. We concluded this phase of the project in March 2026.

Accomplished

  • Identified and recruited a strong core team of PSU and PCC members to the work group: President Ann Cudd and Chief of Staff Sheila Martin provided executive leadership and collaborated with colleagues at PCC to move this work forward. Executive leadership at both PSU were engaged and thoughtful partners.
  • Created a clear vision for transfer partnership between PSU and PCC: Through guided sessions with the Aspen team, President Bennings and President Cudd co-created a vision statement that pushes for strong executive leadership and cross-institutional collaboration to enhance the experience of our transfer students.
  • Strategic Transfer Excellence Plan Launch: We completed and launched our STEP plan. This was co-presented across the learning community by President Bennings and President Cudd.
  • Defined measurable goals: We identified the key measurable goals that will allow us to assess our progress towards the vision set out by President Cudd and President Benning 

Project Health

  • Dependencies and risk are institutional health and competing priorities given enrollment and financial pressures.

Project Team

Executive Leadership: Dr. Ann Cudd and Sheila Martin
Project Manager: Andrea Garrity
PSU Team: Dr. Ann Cudd, Sheila Martin, Andrea Garrity, Randi Harris, Suzanne Koedoot, Delaney Ybarra, Eki Yandall
PCC Team: Dr. Adrien Bennings, Vicky Lopez Sanchez, Josh Laurie, Pat Sanchez-Cottrill, Christy Weigel, Gabby Garcia, Laura Massey
Collaborators: PCC