The Journey
A newsletter for chapter advisors, chapter officers, and regional officers.

High School Outreach: Three Chapters Reach Success
By Nell Ewing

With competition for college freshmen at an all-time high, three community colleges have discovered a secret weapon in the recruiting wars: their Phi Theta Kappa chapters.

Phi Theta Kappa members at the College of the Mainland, Cisco Junior College and Cañada College have all been successful in their efforts to bring high school students to special events on their campuses - thus giving their colleges a headstart in recruiting high school honor students.

“We encourage our chapters to make every effort to acquaint the entire community, and certainly the high school students, with the opportunities for excellence available at two-year institutions,” said Phi Theta Kappa Executive Director Rod A. Risley.

“Traditionally, one of the missions of the two-year college has been to ‘bridge the gap’ between college and high school, and ease the transition for students not yet ready for the challenges of a university. However, community colleges are seeing more and more high-achieving students enroll, and we consider that Phi Theta Kappa honors programming deserves much of the credit,” Risley continued.

Risley also points to Phi Theta Kappa’s Transfer Scholarship Program as a recruitment incentive to high school students. “Generally, the cost of attending a public community college is half that of a public university. However, tuition is increasing across the nation, in both public and private senior institutions. A canny high school honor student would be well-advised to consider community college and Phi Theta Kappa.

“And who can communicate student benefits and answer students’ questions better than other students?” concluded Risley. “A community college’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter can be its most effective recruiting tool.”

Dr. Homer Hayes, President of the College of the Mainland in Texas, wholeheartedly agrees. In 2001, the Phi Theta Kappa chapter on that campus invited local high school students to attend the honors Satellite Seminar Series on the Society’s “community” Honors Study Topic. This was so successful that high schools in other districts are now asking to attend.

“Phi Theta Kappa was the catalyst in this effort that has now spread to other high schools,” said Dr. Hayes. “They fulfilled a long-term need. One of my goals ... is to reach out to the community and make them feel welcome and comfortable on campus. Phi Theta Kappa has surrounded this effort with academic excellence. Members are bringing their high school peers to our campus and making them feel comfortable.”

Johnny Morris, Phi Theta Kappa president at the College of the Mainland last year, said the chapter worked with the admissions department to successfully combine an honors program opportunity with a recruiting effort. “We sent invitations to the sponsors of all the academic clubs at the high schools in our college district and received a great response. We used this as a recruitment opportunity and handed out gift bags with paper and pens to take notes, and other items that have the college’s name on them.”

The administration loved this program so much that College of the Mainland subscribed to the 2002 Satellite Seminar Series at the first opportunity, and invited Morris to present the program at a meeting of area high school superintendents, “ We received an overwhelming response, and the superintendents asked me if the Junior Honor Society members from the local junior highs could attend this year,” Morris said.

Cañada College in Redwood City, California, sponsors an “Evening of Academic Excellence” for high school honor students, who receive certificates and roses commemorating their scholastic achievements. A short program included a welcome by Cañada College President Dr. Rosa Perez, remarks by an assistant high school superintendent, and a short address by a Phi Theta Kappa alumnus who received a full scholarship to a California university.

While the Phi Theta Kappa chapter has sponsored the event in previous years, the administration now endorses the activity and provides financial support, said chapter president Jane Presta.

At Cisco Junior College in Texas, the 2002 International Convention provided the inspiration for the Phi Theta Kappa chapter to actively promote provisional membership for high school honor students. Advisor Jan Sorrells and two members, attending their first International Convention, came back with several ideas to help the chapter grow. Chapter members and campus recruiters now visit area high schools to explain that high school honor students who enroll at Cisco Junior College could become provisional members of Phi Theta Kappa. The chapter has invited National Honor Society members to chapter events, including an Honors Study Topic dinner.

“We believe by inviting the NHS members to participate with us, they will have some very positive experiences that will enrich their lives, and they can get a glimpse of the positive side of attending the two-year school,” said Sorrells. She expects positive results in the fall when several NHS members are expected on campus.

“I am always looking for ideas for recruiting students to the College of the Mainland,” said President Hayes. “I would recommend that my fellow presidents consider using Phi Theta Kappa honor students to reach out to high school honor students — a superior way of using the resources that are available.”

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This page last modified -- Friday, 14-Nov-2003 11:00:24 CST (cwe)