29 March Transfer Honor Roll: 40 Colleges & Universities Recognized for Dynamic Transfer Pathways Tweet March 29, 2016 Events & Awards, Press Room 0 Jackson, Mississippi – Phi Theta Kappa has recognized 40 top colleges and universities as members of the inaugural Excellence in Community College Transfer Honor Roll, which identifies the top four-year colleges and universities for creating dynamic pathways to support community college transfer. Applications were judged based on engagement, collaboration, impact and achievements related to the transfer of community college students as well as partnerships, support, admissions outreach, scholarships/financial aid, student engagement opportunities and institutional priorities. These 40 colleges and universities, which offer exemplary programs, initiatives and benefits for community college transfers, will be acknowledged with the “Transfer Honor Roll” designation on Phi Theta Kappa’s online transfer support platform, CollegeFish.org, and special recognition at Phi Theta Kappa’s 2016 annual convention in National Harbor, Maryland, April 7-9. Phi Theta Kappa will also be releasing a study regarding transfer success based on the information provided in Honor Roll applications. Members of the 2016 Excellence in Community College Transfer Honor Roll are: Arcadia University Bellevue University Cleveland State University DePaul University East Stroudsburg University Friends University Georgia Southern University Hiram College Illinois State University Iowa State University Kean University La Salle University Lawrence University Lee University LIM College Louisiana State University Loyola Marymount University Marquette University Meredith College Metropolitan State University of Denver Northland College Ohio State University Ohio University Oklahoma Baptist University Quinnipiac University Rutgers University - Newark Saint Joseph's University Seattle University Springfield College St. John Fisher College The University of Arizona The University of Findlay Trinity College University of Kansas University of Mississippi University of North Texas University of Tampa Utica College Western Michigan University York College of Pennsylvania Director of Scholarship Operations Christin Grissom said the new recognition program reflects the growing importance of transfer in helping the U.S. achieve its college completion goals and will promote further study and sharing of best practices. “Increasingly, students of all ages and achievement levels are choosing the community college, not only as their first step, but also their first choice, in the pursuit of a quality, affordable bachelor’s degree,” Grissom said. “With this designation, we hope to connect community college students with institutions who value their unique transfer experience and prioritize their success.” Grissom added that colleges and universities who provide high-quality transfer programs benefit from the rich perspective and diversity community college students bring to the student body. "These students are scholars, leaders, global citizens, often with higher grade point averages than students who started at the university,” she said. According to Phi Theta Kappa’s President and CEO, Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner, 92 percent of Phi Theta Kappa members complete an associate degree or transfer. “With a 92 percent student success rate, Phi Theta Kappa members have a proven track record of success. Our members transfer at a much higher rate (72 percent) than the traditional community college student (29 percent),” Tincher-Ladner said. “In order to ensure their continued success, the Transfer Honor Roll Program identifies colleges and universities that understand the unique needs of community college transfer students and applauds the dynamic pathways these colleges have created to continue fostering student success at the four-year college.” Phi Theta Kappa is the oldest, largest and most prestigious honor society recognizing students pursuing two-year degrees. Phi Theta Kappa is made up of more than 3 million members and nearly 1,300 chapters in nine nations. Comments are closed.