By Cole Hatcher, OWU
Ohio Wesleyan University is redefining what it means for a private liberal arts institution to be transfer-friendly with innovative transfer pathways, financial support, and credentialing opportunities.
For the second consecutive year, this work has earned Ohio Wesleyan a spot on Phi Theta Kappa’s national Transfer Honor Roll, which names it among the most transfer-friendly colleges in the country.
“Ohio Wesleyan is creating a new standard for transfer enrollment,” said President Matt vandenBerg, Ed.D. “We’re re-engineering the path to an OWU degree by removing barriers that cost students time, credits, and money. Every student arrives with a different story and a different path. Our job is to build pathways that recognize that reality and give them every opportunity to thrive. That’s the difference between welcoming transfer students and building a university designed for their success.”
The honor roll recognition arrives as Ohio Wesleyan continues to record high transfer enrollment. Last fall, the university welcomed the largest transfer class in OWU history, following a nearly 219% increase in transfer deposits between fall 2023 and fall 2025. And transfer enrollment remains strong this cycle – evidence that the model is scaling, not just working once.
The transfer strategy is part of Ohio Wesleyan’s broader commitment to building flexible pathways that meet students where they are, reduce barriers to completion, and provide multiple routes to an OWU degree.
Ohio Wesleyan’s transfer student programs include:
- Guaranteed transfer pathways in 23 majors through a partnership with Columbus State Community College – removing the credit-loss uncertainty that derails many transfer students nationally.
- A Tuition Match program that lets up to 25 qualified students continue paying their Columbus State rate at Ohio Wesleyan, directly addressing the cost barrier that is the leading cause of transfer stop-out.
- The Teach Now program, which helps qualified Columbus State graduates to compress the path to an OWU bachelor’s degree and Ohio teaching license into as little as two years – a model with direct implications for the state’s teacher shortage.
- Membership in the Ohio Consortium for Transfer Pathways to the Liberal Arts, extending approved pathways in Biology, English, and Psychology to students at any of the consortium’s 11 community colleges.
“Our goal isn’t simply to enroll more transfer students,” said Adam Smith, Ohio Wesleyan’s vice president for enrollment. “It’s to create one of the best transfer experiences in higher education. When students know they’ll be supported academically, socially, and professionally, they’re much more likely to see Ohio Wesleyan as the right place to finish what they started.”
Learn more about transferring to Ohio Wesleyan at owu.edu/transfer.
Phi Theta Kappa’s Honor Roll evaluates colleges across five dimensions shown to drive transfer success: student outcomes, degree applicability, financial support, recruitment and admission practices, and campus engagement. Ohio Wesleyan’s back-to-back recognition places it in a small tier of four-year institutions that PTK considers structurally, not incidentally, built for transfer students.
“Successful transfer happens when institutions intentionally design policies, practices, and campus cultures that help students thrive after they arrive,” said Lynn Tincher-Ladner, Ph.D., president and CEO of Phi Theta Kappa. “These colleges have demonstrated that transfer student success is not accidental. It is a strategic priority.”
