More than 400 students transfer to SUNY Oneonta each year, bringing new experiences, perspectives and goals to the Red Dragon community. Now, two national recognitions are highlighting the university's efforts to help those students succeed.
SUNY Oneonta has been named to Phi Theta Kappa's 2026 Transfer Honor Roll, which recognizes institutions that demonstrate excellence in creating and supporting pathways for community college transfer students.
Colleges of Distinction also awarded SUNY Oneonta its transfer badge, which recognizes colleges and universities that excel in supporting students transferring from community colleges or other four-year institutions. To earn the transfer badge, institutions are evaluated across key focus areas: Credit Transparency and Protection, Transfer-Specific Admissions and Onboarding, Academic and Career Integration, Campus Integration and Student Support, and Institutional Outcomes.
The recognitions come as SUNY Oneonta celebrates National Transfer Week, Oct. 19-23, with a series of special events celebrating the transfer community. Approximately 21 percent of current SUNY Oneonta undergraduates began their college journeys elsewhere, and 57 percent of Oneonta transfer students came from community colleges.
Community College Partners
In 2024, SUNY Oneonta established the Center for Community College Partnerships. In addition to serving as a hub for community college advocacy, the center promotes a transfer-friendly culture through offerings such as:
- Transfer Together Peer Engagement Program — a student-led initiative that supports the academic, social and personal transition of transfer students.
- Transfer Talk — an initiative to better understand the transfer student experience.
SUNY Oneonta has partnerships with four community colleges in the region – SUNY Broome, Mohawk Valley Community College, Schenectady County Community College and Dutchess Community College – and a dual admissions agreement with Hudson Valley Community College, allowing students to apply to both HVCC and SUNY Oneonta at once and smoothly transfer to Oneonta upon completion of their associate’s degree. Prospective transfers from all five schools meet with a SUNY Oneonta transfer advisor on their campus to get personalized advice and support for their transition to Oneonta.
Support for Transfers
SUNY Oneonta offers renewable scholarships of up to $1,500 a year to transfer students who demonstrate outstanding academic ability. Transfer students are also eligible for financial need-based Red Dragon housing grants. In 2025-26, 95 percent of new transfer students received financial aid.
Once they arrive at Oneonta, transfers receive specialized services and support, including:
- a Transfer Living Community— designated clusters for transfer students in Grant, Hays and MacDuff halls;
- a dedicated transfer orientation and student success series to help new transfers make a smooth transition to Oneonta; and
- Tau Sigma, an honor society exclusively for transfer students, and the Transfer Club, which offers social activities and builds community among transfer students.
Transfer Student Success Story
Elisabeth “Ellie” Vogl ’26 earned an associate degree at Monroe Community College before transferring to SUNY Oneonta and majoring in biology with a pre-vet concentration.
“I was kind of worried coming in as a transfer student that I’d be behind, but I accomplished so much more than I thought I would,” she said. “I found my groove pretty easily after finding like-minded people. And there were plenty of other transfer students to get to know.”
For Vogl, Oneonta was just the right size. “The fact that it’s a smaller school and there were so many opportunities available meant that I would often get the opportunities I applied for.”
Vogl’s university career was distinguished by advanced research experiences, including molecular neuroscience work at Tokyo Metropolitan University, made possible by a grant from the Tyler Center for Global Studies.
She was just as committed to leadership and service, logging over 750 hours with the Center for Volunteerism and Community Engagement. In addition to an internship and volunteer work at the Super Heroes Humane Society, she was president of Hulbert Hall Government and the Hippies for Hope club and a student member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, among many other accomplishments.
This fall, Vogl began working toward a dual Doctor of Veterinary Medicine/Master of Public Health degree at Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.
Read more stories of SUNY Oneonta alumni who found their path as transfer students in the Fall issue of Reflections magazine.
Thinking about transferring to SUNY Oneonta? Come feel the vibe for yourself.