Island University Earns Phi Theta Kappa Transfer Honor Roll Distinction

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi recently earned a spot on the 2021 Phi Theta Kappa Transfer Honor Roll. The distinction recognizes four-year colleges and universities that have developed dynamic transfer pathways that lead to excellence and success among community college transfer students.

Loida González Utley, Assistant Director of Transfer Recruitment at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and PTK Alumni Advisor, says the distinction comes as a result of the university’s commitment to the transfer student population and the work being done to provide an ever-growing transfer inclusive environment.

“We are extremely proud of this distinction as it identifies us as one of the top transfer-friendly institutions in the nation,” González Utley said. “Additionally, we are the only university in the A&M System to have obtained this award, 1 out of 8 institutions in the state of Texas, and the only university with this distinction in the entire South Texas region.”

The honor roll, which lists 150 colleges from across the nation, is determined following each college’s use of PTK Connect – an online tool where universities create a transfer profile for students to find their best fit including data such as admissions practices, cost of attendance, campus life, scholarship opportunities, recruitment practices, and peer reviews. The profile immediately gives colleges a Transfer Friendliness Rating they can use internally to gauge how friendly their admissions and recruitment strategies are. The colleges ranked in the top 25% are then named on the Transfer Honor Roll.

“I engage with transfer students every day, and their biggest need is someone to understand where they are coming from,” she said. “Transfer students seek a person or place they can depend on to ease their transition. Considering their situations, acknowledging their emotions and concerns, and guiding them in the path that best suits their academic needs is vital to their academic success.”

PTK Chapter President and Islander nursing major Khoa Hoang says his experience with PTK as a transfer student has been a journey filled with both support and new opportunities for academic success. As an international student from Vietnam, Hoang says PTK Connect was vital in helping him choose where to pursue his bachelor’s degree.

 “When I transferred, I was provided with lots of helpful information from the PTK advisor. I attended the Q&A sessions with Mrs. Loida and learned a lot about PTK scholarships and the university,” he said. “Learning that the university chapter not only provided members with help and guidance to be successful in the university life, but also provides financial support in terms of scholarship is part of the reason why I chose A&M-Corpus Christi.”

While transfer students are faced with challenges like making the transition from a community college setting
to a university, learning a new campus culture, new system, academic processes, and new staff, faculty, and advisors – PTK works to improve the experience by creating a supportive and active campus community.

The TAMU-CC chapter, revived in spring 2020 with 22 active members, has now doubled their ranks with 48 members as of spring 2021. Nationwide, there are more than 240,000 members, which creates a multitude of career networking opportunities.

Thanks to this Honor Roll distinction, TAMU-CC will now be listed along with 150 other colleges and universities in the 2021 PTK Partners in Excellence publication, which is distributed to higher education leaders nationally. The university will also receive recognition on PTK’s website and at PTK Catalyst, Phi Theta Kappa’s annual convention.

For more information about PTK and transferring to TAMUCC, please visit http://futureislander.tamucc.edu/transfer/.