Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society Announces Transfer/Career Program

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI - A highly interactive web-based platform aimed at facilitating transfer and career planning will be available to all community college students free of charge, according to the program's developer, Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society.

Phi Theta Kappa Executive Director Rod A. Risley officially unveiled the program to more than 3,800 delegates attending the Society's 89th annual International Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, this past month.

The program, CollegeFish.org, consists of two major components, Transfer Fish for planning completion of a baccalaureate degree, and Career Fish for aiding career planning.

"We have the responsibility of raising the aspirations of all students to complete a baccalaureate degree - and so we are providing students a tool to accomplish that aim," Risley said.

Access to Transfer Fish will eventually be available to all community college students, from the moment they enroll in their first class, Risley said. Community colleges will be able to access the program at no charge, he explained.

"Community college students, many of them first generation college students, generally do not know the how, what, where, and when with regard to planning for transfer and completion of a baccalaureate degree," said Risley. "These students wait too late to begin the planning process and are often locked out of admissions, scholarships, financial aid and housing opportunities at senior institutions."

"Transfer Fish resources will be accessible 24/7," Risley continued. "Today's college students, and in particular community college students, conduct their research on the internet and late in the evening and on weekends, due to family and job commitments. The internet is quickly becoming the first-point information acquisition for students."

Risley stated that Phi Theta Kappa members have begun to build individual profiles in the Transfer Fish database, and that enrollment will be offered to all community college students in the near future. The website will contain articles to help students understand the terminology associated with planning for transfer, the sequence of tasks to be completed for transfer, a personal automatic calendar noting deadlines, and profiles on more than 2,000 senior colleges.

"One of our major goals is to introduce students to senior colleges who are not only interested in recruiting them, but who are also eager to ensure their transfer success," said Risley.

For many years Phi Theta Kappa has operated the Transfer Connection, a database providing directory information on Society members to senior college admissions officers, to facilitate recruitment efforts. As a result, more than 600 senior colleges now designate $36 million in scholarships to Phi Theta Kappa transfer students.

The basic service provided through Transfer Connection will be incorporated into Transfer Fish. Through Transfer Fish, students will provide more detailed information about themselves, which will lead to the identification of four-year colleges and universities which are "better fits" to meet their needs and interests for transfer success.

The initial version of Transfer Fish is scheduled for release in the fall of 2007. This version will include enhanced capacities for managing scholarship searches for students and initial capacities for community college transfer centers and advisors to research opportunities for their students and begin to monitor the progress of their students in the transfer process. Search capacities for senior institutions for identifying prospective students to provide early advice on course transfer and articulation agreements will be included.

For information contact Phi Theta Kappa Director of Scholarship Programs Heather Johnson at 866.286.8453. Phi Theta Kappa members may obtain enrollment information by sending emails to support@collegefish.org.

Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, is the largest honor society in American higher education with 1,200 chapters on two-year and community college campuses in all 50 of the United States, Canada, Germany, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the British Virgin Islands, the United Arab Emirates and U.S. territorial possessions. More than two million students have been inducted since its founding in 1918, with approximately 100,000 students inducted annually.