The Common Application has launched a new application for transfer students, helping meet a growing need for this student population.

More than one-third of all students switch schools sometime during their college career and more than two-thirds of US colleges view transfer students as considerably important in meeting enrollment goals, according to NACAC’s State of College Admission report.

The new Common App for transfer will allow transfer students to provide information about their qualifications for admission in a more targeted and tailored way. For example, it includes a prerequisite coursework feature, allowing applicants can select courses they completed that apply toward prerequisite requirements for particular academic programs.

It will also include an expanded document collection feature and more options for transfer applicants to report on the experiences they might have accumulated outside of the classroom.

“One of the best things we can do to increase educational attainment — especially for underserved populations — is to ensure the transfer admissions process works well for everyone; we must make it a top priority,” Jon Boeckenstedt, NACAC member and associate vice president for enrollment management and marketing at DePaul University (IL), said in a news release.

DePaul is one of the early adopters of the new Common App for transfer. Others include Dominican University of California, King’s College (PA), Lynchburg College (VA), the Frances Perkins Program at Mount Holyoke College (MA), Robert Morris University (PA), St. Edward’s University (TX), the University of Dayton (OH), and Valparaiso University (IN).

Common App members will transition to the new transfer application this month. Applications will go live for the 2018-2019 application cycle.

Ashley Dobson is NACAC’s communications manager for content and social media. You can reach her at adobson@nacacnet.org.