Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education Supports Transfer Student Success Through GEAUX Transfer Program
September 29, 2025
BATON ROUGE, LA - In fall 2024, the number of college students who transferred into a new higher
education institution grew almost 5% compared to fall 2023, and transfer students made up 13% of all undergraduate students,
an increase from 11.9% in 2020. With an influx of transfer students on college campuses,
April Chen, PhD, associate professor in the LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education, is making sure transfer students are set up for success on LSU’s campus with her
GEAUX Transfer program. 
Funded through a $500K NSF grant over 5 years, GEAUX Transfer is a one-semester peer-mentoring program designed to support transfer student success at LSU. It pairs new transfer students with senior transfer student mentors, fostering a sense of community and belonging among students who may share similar experiences.
“We believe the GEAUX Transfer program represents an important and uplifting story about student success, support and engagement, particularly for transfer students who often face unique challenges when adjusting to a new campus,” Chen said.
The program launched in spring 2025 with 20 students completing it. Students are now being recruited for the fall 2025 semester.
“Serving as a mentor for GEAUX Transfer as someone who did the program as a mentee in spring 2025 is an incredible honor because I want these transfer students to find their place and make the most out of every opportunity LSU presents them,” Joshua Jones, a third-year marketing student from Bossier City, Louisiana, said. “It's even great to connect with them to see how I can best serve them while advocating for them to ensure they feel seen, heard, invested, welcomed and valued. The more programs, resources and initiatives that LSU does, such as these, the more that the school can be able to strengthen retention rates amongst the transfer student demographic.”
“We are thrilled that Dr. Chen’s research is being used to directly inform this innovative mentorship program that is beneficial to so many transfer students,” Laura Choate, EdD, director of the LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education, said. “Congratulations to Dr. Chen, the 2025 mentors and the new class of mentees in the Geaux Transfer program!”
About the LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education
A school of the LSU College of Human Sciences & Education, the Lutrill & Pearl Payne
School of Education (SOE) offers undergraduate programs for students who want to pursue
a career as a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade teacher or acquire dual certification
in both traditional elementary and special education classrooms. In addition, SOE
offers 3 graduate certificates, 17 master’s degree program areas, 9 EdS certificate
programs, and 2 PhD degrees in 11 areas of focus. SOE’s focus is not only on preparing
highly qualified teachers but also in preparing educational leaders, curriculum studies
scholars, educational technology experts, applied researchers, higher education professionals,
school counselors, and clinical mental health counselors. SOE specializes scholarly
expertise regarding pressing educational and wellness issues across the entire lifespan.
Visit the LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education.
About the College of Human Sciences & Education
The College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE) is a nationally accredited division
of Louisiana State University. The college is comprised of the School of Education,
the School of Information Studies, the School of Kinesiology, the School of Leadership
& Human Resource Development, and the School of Social Work. CHSE has two model demonstration
schools, the Early Childhood Education Laboratory Preschool, enrolling birth to age
four and the University Laboratory School enrolling Kindergarten through grade 12.
The college also has four centers and institutes: the Early Childhood Education Institute,
the Healthy Aging Research Center, the Leadership Development Institute, and Social
Research & Evaluation Center. The college is committed to achieving the highest standards
in teaching, research, and service and aims to improve quality of life across the
lifespan.
Visit the College of Human Sciences & Education website.