Employment and transfer
It’s no longer enough to educate students solely on their chosen major; today’s college students need more support navigating the transfer process, preparing to enter the workforce , and accessing scholarships than ever before. PHI THETA KAPPA is stepping in to help colleges bridge the gap between degree completion and what comes next.
We’ve spent the last several years talking to employers, transfer admissions experts, and professionals about the skills students will need after graduation but aren’t developing in classrooms. These are the factors that most greatly determine student success, and we’ve put it all into our custom PTK EDGE™ courses. They are the how-to guides every student needs.
As students complete PTK EDGE™ courses, they receive digital badges. These badges can be shared on social media, including and especially LinkedIn, so potential employers can see certification of the skills they have mastered.
The topics in our newest course, Employment Edge, were recommended by employers nationwide and cover what they want students to know before applying for a job:
- Clarify employment goals
- Start a career journal
- Develop a career-specific resume
- Create a LinkedIn profile
- Find a bridge person
- Ace an interview
Workforce-bound students have unique interests, skills, and experience that aren’t easily captured on traditional scholarship applications. So, based on student feedback, we developed a custom application exclusively for this group and saw applications skyrocket.
students applying for workforce scholarships
in 2019 to career-technical students
workforce-bound students joining PTK
Transferring is tricky, particularly for first-generation and underserved students. For a community college student with little extra time and few resources, it can be hard to find the right four-year college for them. PTK Connect™ exists to make these institutions more accessible. Students can find transfer scholarships, transfer-friendly colleges, and search a variety of career paths.
More than 800 four-year colleges and universities from across the country have partnered with us to provide over $38 million in transfer scholarships exclusively for PTK members. Thirty-seven new partnerships were added in 2019.
PTK Connect™ Stats:
- Student users: 20,529
- Searches run: 211,793
Students are searching for:
- Scholarships: 102,384
- Colleges: 88,295
- Careers: 20,606
TRANSFER HONOR ROLL
Transfer Profiles created by colleges and universities in PTK Connect™ let students see what the transfer student experience is like at that institution as well as the strategies that school is taking to support and enroll transfer students.
Through a new and unique partnership with the National Student Clearinghouse, colleges can have data from the Clearinghouse automatically populated into its Transfer Profile each year. Students can see some of this data, such as the number of transfer students enrolled at that college, and determine whether the school could be a good fit. These Transfer Profiles give the colleges a Transfer Friendliness Rating that students can use to gauge how friendly their admissions and recruitment strategies are. The top 25% highest-rated colleges are named to PTK’s Transfer Honor Roll.
“The University of Arizona considers it a privilege to be recognized for the PTK Transfer Honor Roll. We take great pride in providing our transfer students and PTK scholars with scholarships and unparalleled support services. We look forward to continuing our affiliation with PTK to assist them in their work to identify and reward high-achieving transfer students.”
– Annique Petit, Executive Director, Community College Partnerships, Enrollment Planning & Recruitment, The University of Arizona
Scholarships
The cost of higher education continues to rise, making scholarships more important than ever before. PTK members have access to nearly $90 million in scholarships through partnerships with four-year institutions, Phi Theta Kappa’s competitive scholarship application, and opportunities promoted directly to members by our friends at other organizations.
Transfer Scholarships
More than 800 four-year colleges and universities have partnered with us to provide over $38 million in transfer scholarships exclusively for PTK members. We were thrilled to add 37 new partners this year.
EXAMPLE 1
TERRANCE ROBINSON was among the first to receive a New Century Workforce Pathway Scholarship. It came at the perfect time — he’d been thinking about getting another part-time job to help cover expenses, but he was able to avoid this and apply the scholarship to his tuition, books, and other needed supplies.
He graduated top of his class in Radiologic Technology from West Georgia Technical College in 2018, passed the state registry on his first attempt, and was hired just weeks later as the head Radiologic Technologist at a medical center in Atlanta.
“On the mental aspect, [the scholarship] gave me more encouragement to keep pushing on,” he said. “And with my wife and children witnessing the phenomenal honor, it gave them pride and encouragement to believe they too could be successful with dedication and perseverance.”
EXAMPLE 2
KATHERINE COPLEY-FLORES received a New Century Workforce Pathway Scholarship in 2018 as a student at Johnson County Community College in Kansas. She has worked as a chocolatier at Christopher Elbow Chocolates for three years.
“It helped me be in a more financially stable place,” she said. “As a young, working woman it has helped me to not only start a savings but also has encouraged me to keep up with it. So many people my age struggle with finances and making ends meet, but this scholarship has made is slightly less of a burden for me and my husband.”
PTK Competitive Scholarships
More than 800 four-year colleges and universities have partnered with us to provide over $38 million in transfer scholarships exclusively for PTK members. We were thrilled to add 37 new partners this year.
More than 650 PTK members received awards totaling more than $1 million in 2019 through our competitive scholarship application, which is more accessible than ever before.
- The application is now open year-round, meaning students can start working on the application as soon as they become members.
- ScholarSnapp® integration lets students reuse their responses.
- The number of completed scholarship applications increased 6,082% this year.
Spotlight: Workforce-Bound Students
Workforce-bound students have unique interests, skills, and experience that aren’t easily captured on traditional scholarship applications. So, based on student feedback, we developed a custom application exclusively for this group and saw applications skyrocket.
STUDENTS APPLYING FOR WORKFORCE SCHOLARSHIPS
AWARED IN 2019 TO CAREER-TECHNICAL STUDENTS
INCREASE IN WORK-BOUND STUDENTS JOINING PTK
EXAMPLE 1
TERRANCE ROBINSON was among the first to receive a New Century Workforce Pathway Scholarship. It came at the perfect time — he’d been thinking about getting another part-time job to help cover expenses, but he was able to avoid this and apply the scholarship to his tuition, books, and other needed supplies.
He graduated top of his class in Radiologic Technology from West Georgia Technical College in 2018, passed the state registry on his first attempt, and was hired just weeks later as the head Radiologic Technologist at a medical center in Atlanta.
“On the mental aspect, [the scholarship] gave me more encouragement to keep pushing on,” he said. “And with my wife and children witnessing the phenomenal honor, it gave them pride and encouragement to believe they too could be successful with dedication and perseverance.”
EXAMPLE 2
KATHERINE COPLEY-FLORES received a New Century Workforce Pathway Scholarship in 2018 as a student at Johnson County Community College in Kansas. She has worked as a chocolatier at Christopher Elbow Chocolates for three years.
“It helped me be in a more financially stable place,” she said. “As a young, working woman it has helped me to not only start a savings but also has encouraged me to keep up with it. So many people my age struggle with finances and making ends meet, but this scholarship has made is slightly less of a burden for me and my husband.”