New College now ranks among the “most transfer-friendly schools in the nation” with a spot on the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (PTK) 2021 Transfer Honor Roll.
The annual list recognizes “excellence in the development and support of dynamic and innovative transfer pathways for community college transfer students.”
Attracting and enrolling transfer students (in addition to first-time-in-college students) has been a top priority for New College, especially in recent years, and this latest accolade signifies progress.
“We are one of two State University System of Florida colleges on this prestigious list of 150 colleges and universities in the nation to be recognized for their ‘transfer friendliness’ rating,” said Tim Binns, New College’s transfer admissions coordinator. “This is to say that PTK recognizes New College as one of 150 universities in the United States to provide exceptional opportunities to two-year students looking to advance their education.”
According to Lynn Tincher-Ladner, Ph.D., the president and CEO of PTK, the award is given to four-year colleges and universities with proven outcomes for transfer success—those that are “the best at providing a supportive and smooth transition from community college—equating to increased rates of bachelor’s degree attainment for transfer students.”
But how is this success measured? To qualify, colleges use a feature called PTK Connect and complete a Transfer Profile, which lists information on admissions practices, the cost of attendance, campus life, recruitment practices and peer reviews. The profile is meant to reflect what the transfer student experience is like at the college, as well as the strategies the college is taking to support transfer students. The profile immediately gives the college a “Transfer Friendliness Rating,” and the top 25 percent highest-rated colleges are named to the Transfer Honor Roll.
“Transfer students are an increasingly large segment of higher education,” Binns said. “We see upticks in the number of nontraditional students with each economic recession, where workers return to gain education and increased skills to adapt to the market or move into new careers. This tends to be especially true as we continue advancing towards a more post-industrial and high-skill/education-based economy.”
Binns hopes to continue raising New College’s profile among the transfer student population, and the PTK exposure is a significant step forward. PTK is the premier honor society recognizing the academic achievement of students at associate degree-granting colleges. There are more than 3.5 million PTK members and nearly 1,300 chapters in 11 nations (with about 240,000 active members in the nation’s colleges).
“The transfer path offers opportunities to those who may not have been ready or able to attend their target four-year college or university right out of high school, or who had never previously considered college, but who are looking to now,” Binns said.
New College looks forward to welcoming them.
For more information on PTK and the Transfer Honor Roll, visit ptk.org.
Abby Weingarten is the senior editor in the Office of Communications & Marketing.