Contact: Sammy McDavid

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State is among more than 100 senior higher-education institutions being praised by the international honor society for students at two-year colleges.

The university recently was named to the 2018 Transfer Honor Roll of Phi Theta Kappa.

Founded in 1918 and headquartered in Jackson, PTK is considered the premier organization for recognizing the academic achievements of those pursuing associate degrees. Its more than 3.5 million members are spread among nearly 1,300 community and junior college chapters in nine countries.

In mid-April, MSU and other 2018 honor roll members will be recognized formally at the society’s annual convention in Kansas City, Missouri.

Launched in 2016 and open to all accredited baccalaureate degree-granting institutions, the honor roll program was created to identify and applaud excellence in developing student pathways to the next study level. Scholarship and financial aid, admissions outreach, student support services and campus engagement opportunities are among the society’s criteria for selection.

Lynn Tincher-Ladner, PTK president and CEO, said the recognition effort reflects the growing importance of responding to the needs of community college transfers, and of promoting and sharing best practices for their continuing academic success.

“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,” Tincher-Ladner said.

“In order to ensure their continued success,” she continued, “the Transfer Honor Roll program identifies colleges and universities that understand the unique needs of transfer students and applauds the dynamic pathways these colleges have created to continue fostering student success among transfer students at the four-year college.”

John Dickerson, Mississippi State’s assistant vice president for enrollment, said transfers make up more than a third of MSU’s enrollment. The university has set transfer enrollment records during two of the last three years “and the partnership with Phi Theta Kappa has contributed significantly to that success,” he added.

A former senior administrator at Copiah-Lincoln Community College, Dickerson said he and other MSU administrators work regularly with the honor society staff members, who he praised for being “great partners in helping us ensure that we provide Phi Theta Kappa students, and all transfer students, a successful transition.”

Hannah Pierce, assistant director of transfer recruitment in MSU’s Office of the Admissions and Scholarships, said the land-grant institution greatly appreciates the special PTK recognition. Inclusion on the Transfer Honor Roll “demonstrates Mississippi State’s commitment to providing an environment for outstanding community college transfers to enroll and be successful,” she said.

Mississippi University for Women, Delta State University and the universities of Mississippi and Southern Mississippi are other Magnolia State institutions on the 2018 list.

For more about Phi Theta Kappa, see www.ptk.org; about its Transfer Honor Roll program,
www.ptk.org/Default.aspx?TabID=4186.

Community college students, potential entering freshmen and others interested in attending MSU should visit www.admissions.msstate.edu for complete enrollment details.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.