Northern Michigan University is among 228 colleges and universities nationwide and one of only three public institutions in Michigan named to the 2024 Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society's Transfer Honor Roll for “creating dynamic pathways” to support transfer students. This accomplishment marks the third consecutive year Northern has been recognized for outstanding transfer student services.
“The PTK Transfer Honor Roll is important for NMU because it recognizes the efforts to serve traditional transfer students as termed by NMU's admissions policies,” said Lucas Abromowitz, senior associate director of Admissions. “Those services also impact all students with prior college credit. Almost half of NMU's undergraduate population has some prior college credit, such as freshmen from dual enrollment and middle-college programs. We continue to improve our transfer processes because it helps all of our students.
“Phi Theta Kappa's reputation among colleges and universities as the premier advocate for high-achieving community college students also brings with it the understanding that meeting or exceeding their benchmarks places NMU among a select group of institutions.”
Abromowitz said NMU's pathways for transfer students include multiple articulation agreements that outline four-year degree completion by laddering from a community college program to a matching NMU program.
Students not in an articulation agreement at a community college can also use NMU's Major Equivalency Guides to more easily determine the applicability of their transfer courses to a major at NMU.
According to a PTK press release, the Transfer Honor Roll is determined by 40 key metrics related to the support and success of transfer students, including college cost and financial aid, campus life for transfer, admission practices and bachelor's degree completion.
The Transfer Honor Roll was based on analysis from the National Student Clearinghouse, and on data submitted through each four-year institution's profile on PTK Connect, Phi Theta Kappa's online tool designed to help students find their best-fit colleges and career pathways.
Colleges completing the PTK Connect profile are given a Transfer Friendliness Rating. The Honor Roll is chosen from among the top 25% highest-rated colleges.
“The goal of most students attending community college is earning a bachelor's degree, but few do because of financial barriers and the complexity of the transfer process,” says Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner, President and CEO of Phi Theta Kappa. “We are proud to recognize the exceptional colleges and universities that go above and beyond to create accessible pathways to bachelor's degree completion for community college transfer students.”
View the full Transfer Honor Roll here.
Media Contact: Lucas Abromowitz, labromow@nmu.edu or 906-227-2788