Phi Theta Kappa Transfer Honor Roll

Phi Theta Kappa annually looks at all four-year colleges to see which ones welcome transfer students and publishes a list of schools that provide great pathways for students to transfer. 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. The 6 areas they evaluate are:

• Transfer Data
• Admissions
• Cost of Attendance
• Campus Life
• Recruitment Practices
• Peer Reviews

Here is the complete list of the schools that made the 2022 Transfer Honor Roll:

Adelphi University

Albion College

Alma College

Anna Maria College

Antioch University – Santa Barbara

Antioch University – Seattle

Appalachian State University

Arizona State University

Athens State University

Augsburg University

Baldwin Wallace University

Barton College

Bay Path University

Belhaven University

Bellevue University

Binghamton University

Blackburn College

Blue Mountain College

Bluffton University

Bryant University

Buena Vista University

Carroll College

Carson-Newman University

Carthage College

Chatham University

Clarke University

College for Creative Studies

Columbia College (SC)

Concordia University-St. Paul

Cornell College

Cumberland University

Dallas Baptist University

Delaware Valley University

DePaul University

Drake University

Duquesne University

East Texas Baptist University

Eastern Illinois University

Eastern Oregon University

Eckerd College

Elizabethtown College

Elmhurst University

Elmira College

Florida International University

Florida Southern College

Freed-Hardeman University

Friends University

Georgetown University SCS

Georgian Court University

Gonzaga University

Grand View University

Greenville University

Hamline University

Hiram College

Hood College

Illinois College

Illinois Institute of Technology

Illinois State University

Iowa State University

Kansas State University

Kean University

King’s College

Kutztown University

Lake Forest College

LIM College

Lincoln Memorial University

Lindenwood University

Lipscomb University

Long Island University Post

Loyola Marymount University

Loyola University Chicago

Loyola University Maryland

Loyola University New Orleans

Marian University

Marquette University

Maryville College

McMurry University

Merrimack College

Metropolitan State University of Denver

Millikin University

Mississippi State University

Monmouth College

Mount Mercy University

Mount St. Joseph University

Neumann University

New College of Florida

New York Institute of Technology

Newberry College

Newman University

Niagara University

North Carolina Wesleyan College

North Central College

Northeastern State University

Northern Arizona University

Northern Michigan University

Northland College

Notre Dame of Maryland University

Oakland University

Oglethorpe University

Ohio Dominican University

Ohio University

Pacific University

Palo Alto University

Prescott College

Radford University

Randolph-Macon College

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rider University

Roger Williams University

Rollins College

Rowan University

Russell Sage College

Rutgers University Newark

Saint Joseph’s University

Saint Peter’s University

Shepherd University

Simpson College

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Southern Wesleyan University

Spring Hill College

Springfield College

St. Cloud State University

St. John Fisher College

Stephens College

Stevenson University

Stockton University

Suffolk University

SUNY Cortland

SUNY Geneseo

SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Texas A&M University Corpus Christi

Texas Lutheran University

Texas Tech University

Texas Wesleyan University

The College of Saint Rose

University of Texas at Arlington

Trevecca Nazarene University

Union Institute & University

University of Colorado Boulder

University of Colorado Denver

University of Evansville

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

University of Iowa

University of Kansas

University of Louisville

University of Massachusetts Lowell

University of Mississippi

University of New Haven

University of North Texas

University of Northern Iowa

University of San Francisco

University of Southern Mississippi

University of Tampa

University of the Incarnate Word

University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

Ursuline College

Utica College

Valparaiso University

Walsh College

Wayne State University

Webster University

Wells College

Western Governors University

Western Kentucky University

Whitworth University

Wichita State University

Wilkes University

Wilmington College

Wilmington University

Wisconsin Lutheran College

York College of Pennsylvania

For more information on the program visit: https://www.ptk.org/recruiters/university-transfer-recruiters/transfer-honor-roll/

What Does a School Counselor Do? (Infographic)

Saw this posted in the High School Counselor Resources Group on Facebook and wanted to share for those that may not have seen it.

Follow up to post: Note in many schools curriculum is not a role of a school counselor, but rather an administrator or curriculum coordinator. Here are the guidelines set forth by the American School Counselor Association: https://schoolcounselor.org/About-School-Counseling/School-Counselor-Roles-Ratios

How to tell if a college is “good”

When students ask us to compile a list of recommended colleges, they are often thinking of rank and reputation. But, as we well know, rankings in magazines are usually just a popularity contest, and sometimes are not always even true. Ranking can also make admission rates vary; colleges have learned to manipulate rankings without fundamentally changing anything about their schools.

At the same time, many truly good colleges are overlooked. Can we correct this?

Using additional measures can provide real, significant information about an institution’s quality of a college:

1. What is its retention rate? What percentage of first-year students return to this campus for their second year?
2. What is its 4-year graduation rate? 6-year graduation rate?
3. The school may offer the major a student wants, but how many courses are there? Are there opportunities for undergraduates?  
4. What is the average class size? And what is the overall student-faculty ratio? This does not mean the student-teacher ratio. There is a difference.

All of the answers may be found in the data for each school. The key is to locating this data. We cannot assume that students will able to find answers on their own, so others need to be prepared to help them by doing the research.

The answers lie in each school’s Common Data Set. For new counselors, the CDS is a document of about 33 pages compiled each year by the school’s office of institutional research. It is a collaborative effort, but schools are not required to answer. It is uniform, meaning that the same information is asked in the same order. But it offers a wealth of statistics: who is reporting the information, if the school offers undergraduate degrees only or both undergraduate and graduate degrees, how many applications are filed each year, how many are chosen, and how many have enrolled. Does the school offer a waiting list? All enrolled students are listed: how many men, how many women, how many of each race. It tells how many teachers there are, what their highest degree is, and what race they are. You can see the sticker price (that is, tuition charged before scholarships are taken into consideration), the cost of housing and dining, and any fees charged.

Schools know not every person wants every bit of information, so they often give a page of “fast facts” about themselves. But there should also be a link to the current Common Data Set; most schools give the last few years’ results. This way, you can see in what ways the school has expanded or not. So the first thing is to look at a school’s website and see if the CDS is offered. You may need to go to the school’s “search” function and simply ask for the CDS.

But if there are just “Fast Facts” you can try another way. Google the name of the school AND the phrase “Common Data Set.” Either it will come up, if it exists, or not. You may be led to a “CDS” produced by another source, with some of the data available. Or you may be asked to fill out a data request form. Or you may be told to request information from a certain person on campus. This requires a time investment, and may not provide the information you seek.

When you ask for a school’s CDS, why are you offered all kinds of information except the CDS? Is the school trying to make things easier for me – or is this an attempt not to reveal something?

Take a look at the first thing suggested: what percentage of first-year students return to this school for a second year? 97% is excellent – 65% says something else. There can be many reasons for students’ not returning, including health and finances. But you need to ask for an explanation.

The second thing is the 6-year graduation rate. The CDS gives this as an indication of student success. A 6-year rate is usually given rather than 4, as many things can interfere with student progress: work opportunities, internships, illness, family reasons, switching majors, or holding down a job while balancing school responsibilities. If, for example, every member of a cohort that began college in the fall of 2018 graduated by the spring of 2022, that would be a rate of 100%. No school has that. But 91% is pretty good. 42% is not. What if you can’t find the graduation rate? It’s there: colleges know this information. You will need to ask.

If students want a certain major, you know which schools to suggest. But how many courses does the school offer in this area? What is their average size? Are there scholarships available? Does the school help students get internships? Is there a space in the department for students to gather? How many graduate each year with this major? Where are last year’s graduates? From five years ago? In other words, is there support for this major? Schools will be very eager to provide information about successful graduates.

And, significantly, who teaches the courses? Who teaches the introductory courses and who teaches more advanced classes? This is the final, and possibly the most significant, question you can ask about this school. It is normal for a university (which has a grad school) to have some advanced students teaching intro courses.

But it is not normal is to have 40%, 50%, 60% or more of the teaching staff working as part-time, contingent faculty. This shows that skimping on salaries is more important to this school than the educational process. Counselors should care if colleges have huge numbers of contingent faculty. They should see as red flags repeated, chronic labor issues on a campus. An unhappy teaching force may reflect working conditions that will definitely affect our students’ learning conditions.

Train your students to ask very pointed questions. When colleges send admissions reps to high schools to recruit applicants they answer most students’ questions. But they don’t address the working conditions of faculty – and in fact, they are usually unaware of them. Sometimes, and often at smaller schools, faculty and administration do work together for the benefit of the students; but those are the exceptions. At large universities, despite all the administrative personnel, students are on their own.

Colleges may be charging high tuition, but shortchanging students. If they continue to persist in treating huge numbers of their teachers poorly, we can expect a continuing decline in higher education. More teachers will leave the profession, fewer students will aspire to become teachers, and classes will get even larger. Only those who can afford it will even go to college or graduate school. Adjuncts will quit in disgust, courses will have no teachers, and colleges will have to retrench or close down. Students may pursue degrees, but not real education.

Those of us who were nurtured by caring teachers, who inspired us with their passion for learning, and those of us who still care about students, are filled with dread. Today’s students must be very careful, and ask uncomfortable questions.                    

Dr. Jane S. Gabin was senior assistant director of undergraduate admissions at UNC-Chapel Hill for 10 years, and then worked as a college counselor in New York City, most recently at the United Nations International School. Currently she operates Collegiate Consulting, an independent educational counseling firm, in Chapel Hill, NC.               

These Colleges are Still Actively Recruiting Students for the Fall 2022 Semester

NACAC’s annual College Openings Update: Options for Qualified Students is a voluntary listing of NACAC member postsecondary institutions that are still accepting applications from prospective freshman and/or transfer students for the upcoming fall term. Now in its 34th year, the College Openings Update is designed as a tool for counselors, parents and others assisting students who have not yet completed the college admission process. The list of colleges is updated daily, so please check back periodically to see additional colleges still accepting applications. Each College is still accepting applications for the Fall 2022 semester and has a contact name and URL to check out their website. Here is a link: https://www.nacacnet.org/news–publications/Research/openings/?fbclid=IwAR1GcmTXwkD1-ApSPoeukR5ddBYUB4pMlkybn9IN0OiSuBkBr01FaGFDuuY