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The Challenge
Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) is an international honor society for two year colleges based in Jackson, Mississippi. PTK, through its National Transfer Center function, assists students in two year colleges in matriculating to four year institutions. This process can often be difficult and confusing for students, who may have difficulty accessing comprehensive information with regards to the available academic programs, extra-curricular activities, student aid, and the admissions criteria and processes. Phi Theta Kappa, as an advocate for these students, sought to provide them an information resource to facilitate the difficult process of moving on to four year institutions.
Third Day’s Solution
To meet the needs of the PTK National Transfer Center, Third Day Solutions, working in conjunction with PTK staff, developed the CollegeFish application. This is a Java-based, web enabled application developed on a sound architecture that provides the information necessary to guide students from two-year institutions through a successful transfer. This system provides numerous benefits, both to the students involved and to four-year institutions by facilitating increased student enrollment.
Students can utilize CollegeFish to provide information helpful to other stakeholders interested in assisting them to successfully navigate the transfer process. Information is stored in a student database containing student contact information, educational background, work experience, and the student’s interest and plans for transfer to a four-year institution.
CollegeFish provides accurate information to two-year college transfer advisors on articulation agreements, offerings at four-year institutions, information on the “transfer friendliness” of four-year intuitions, and networking opportunities with their counterparts at four-year institutions.
The CollegeFish application provides four-year college admissions representatives with diverse search and query methods into the student database. Admissions representatives will be able to identify and communicate with students who have expressed interest in their school or similar schools and students that match desired demographic profiles.
CollegeFish also allows Phi Theta Kappa advisors to be able to provide additional support to students enrolled in CollegeFish through tools provided by the PTK National Transfer Center.
Phi Theta Kappa information technology personnel are currently developing the final features of the system in preparation for operational deployment prior to the 2007-08 academic year.
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