JACKSON, MS / ACCESS Newswire / July 21, 2026 / Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (PTK) has named 275 four-year colleges and universities to its 2026 Transfer Honor Roll, recognizing institutions that have demonstrated exceptional success in creating pathways that help community college transfer students earn bachelor's degrees.
The Transfer Honor Roll is one of the nation's most comprehensive recognitions of transfer excellence. Institutions are evaluated using data from the National Student Clearinghouse along with data collected through PTK Connect, Phi Theta Kappa's online platform that connects our nation's top community college students with transfer opportunities.
Rather than measuring a single outcome, the Honor Roll evaluates how well institutions support transfer students from admission through graduation. Colleges are assessed across five dimensions shown to influence transfer success:
Transfer student success outcomes
Credit mobility and degree applicability
Financial support for transfer students
Recruitment and admissions practices
Campus engagement and support for transfer students
Institutions that complete the PTK Connect institutional profile receive a Transfer Friendliness Rating. The Transfer Honor Roll recognizes the top-performing institutions based on this comprehensive evaluation.
"This recognition is about much more than transfer agreements," said Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner, President and CEO of Phi Theta Kappa. "Successful transfer happens when institutions intentionally design policies, practices, and campus cultures that help students thrive after they arrive. These colleges have demonstrated that transfer student success is not accidental. It is a strategic priority."
The 2026 Honor Roll institutions demonstrated exceptional performance across multiple measures of transfer success. Among this year's recognized institutions:
Average percentage of transfer students in the undergraduate population: 56%
Average bachelor's degree completion rate for transfer students: 77%
Average percentage of transferred credits applied toward a degree: 88%
Average percentage of transfer students receiving merit-based financial aid: 76%
The Transfer Honor Roll has grown into a national benchmark for transfer excellence. This year, 1,117 colleges and universities completed PTK's institutional profile, providing students with transparent information about transfer opportunities while allowing institutions to benchmark their transfer practices against peers nationwide.
"Recognition matters because it shines a light on what works," said Heather Yush, Senior Director of College Relations for Phi Theta Kappa. "When colleges are recognized for transfer excellence, they create powerful examples that inspire other institutions to strengthen their own transfer pathways. Ultimately, that means more students earn the bachelor's degrees they set out to achieve."
Members of the 2026 Transfer Honor Roll are:
Adelphi University | Albion College | Alfred University |
Allegheny College | Alma College | Antioch University Santa Barbara |
Antioch University Seattle | Appalachian State University | Arcadia University |
Arizona State University | Athens State University | Augsburg University |
Augustana College | Baldwin Wallace University | Barry University |
Barton College | Bay Path University | Belhaven University |
Bellevue University | Belmont University | Beloit College |
Bennington College | Bentley University | Binghamton University |
Blackburn College | Blue Mountain Christian University | Bradley University |
Brewton-Parker Christian University | Bryant University | Buena Vista University |
Caldwell University | Canisius University | Capital University |
Carroll College | Carson-Newman University | Carthage College |
Central Michigan University | Champlain College | Chatham University |
Chestnut Hill College | Clarke University | Cleveland State University |
College for Creative Studies | Concordia University, St. Paul | Cornell College |
Cumberland University | Dallas Baptist University | Delaware Valley University |
DePaul University | Dominican University (IL) | Drake University |
Drexel University | Duquesne University | East Stroudsburg University |
East Texas Baptist University | Eastern Illinois University | Eastern Kentucky University |
Eastern Oregon University | Eckerd College | Elizabethtown College |
Elmhurst University | Elmira College | Emerson College |
Emmanuel College | Faulkner University | Ferris State University |
Florida International University | Florida Southern College | Franklin University Switzerland |
Freed-Hardeman University | Friends University | Georgia Highlands College |
Georgia Southern University | Georgian Court University | Gonzaga University |
Goucher College | Governors State University | Grand View University |
Greenville University | Gustavus Adolphus College | Hamline University |
Hilbert College | Hiram College | Holy Family University |
Hood College | Hunter College - CUNY | Illinois College |
Illinois Institute of Technology | Illinois State University | Immaculata University |
Iona University | Iowa State University | Juniata College |
Kansas State University | Kean University | King's College |
Knox College | La Salle University | Lake Forest College |
Lawrence University | Le Moyne College | Lebanon Valley College |
Lee University | Lees-McRae College | Lenoir-Rhyne University |
Lesley University | LIM College | Lindenwood University |
Lipscomb University | Long Island University | Loras College |
Loyola Marymount University | Loyola University Chicago | Loyola University Maryland |
Loyola University New Orleans | Marietta College | Marist University |
Marquette University | Maryville College | Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts |
McDaniel College | McMurry University | Menlo College |
Mercy University | Merrimack College | Metro State University St. Paul |
Metropolitan State University of Denver | Millikin University | Millsaps College |
Minneapolis College of Art and Design | Mississippi Christian University | Mississippi State University |
Missouri University of Science & Technology | Monmouth College | Mount Saint Mary's University Los Angeles |
Mount St. Joseph University | Mount St. Mary's University Emmitsburg | Nazareth University |
Nebraska Wesleyan University | Neumann University | New York Institute of Technology |
Newman University | Niagara University | North Carolina Wesleyan University |
North Central College | North Dakota State University | Northeastern State University |
Northern Arizona University | Northern Illinois University | Northern Michigan University |
Northwest Nazarene University | Notre Dame of Maryland University | Nova Southeastern University |
Oakland University | Oglethorpe University | Ohio Dominican University |
Ohio University | Ohio University - OHIO Online | Ohio Wesleyan University |
Pace University | Pacific University | Palo Alto University |
Peru State College | Portland State University | Radford University |
Randolph-Macon College | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | Rider University |
Roanoke College | Robert Morris University | Rockhurst University |
Roger Williams University | Rollins College | Roosevelt University |
Rowan University | Russell Sage College | Rutgers University - Newark |
Saint Joseph's University Philadelphia | Saint Michael's College | Saint Peter's University |
Saint Xavier University | School of the Art Institute of Chicago | Seattle University |
Simpson College | Southeast Missouri State University | Southern Illinois University Carbondale |
Southern Wesleyan University | Southwestern College (KS) | Southwestern University (TX) |
Spring Hill College | Springfield College | St. Cloud State University |
St. Edward's University | St. John Fisher University | St. John's University |
St. Mary's College of California | St. Mary's College of Maryland | Stephens College |
Stetson University | Stevenson University | Stockton University |
Stony Brook University | Suffolk University | SUNY Cortland |
SUNY Geneseo | SUNY Oneonta | SUNY Polytechnic Institute |
Tabor College | Tennessee Wesleyan University | Texas A&M University - Central Texas |
Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi | Texas Lutheran University | Texas Tech University |
Texas Wesleyan University | The College of New Jersey | The University of Arizona |
The University of Arizona Global Campus | The University of Baltimore | The University of Iowa |
The University of Kansas | The University of Southern Mississippi | The University of Tampa |
The University of Texas at Arlington | The University of Texas at San Antonio | The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley |
The University of Toledo | The University of Tulsa | Thiel College |
Thomas Edison State University | Towson University | Trine University |
Tulane University School of Professional Advancement | University of Arkansas at Little Rock | University of Central Missouri |
University of Cincinnati | University of Colorado Boulder | University of Colorado Denver |
University of Dubuque | University of Evansville | University of Lynchburg |
University of Maine at Farmington | University of Maine | University of Massachusetts Lowell |
University of Minnesota Morris | University of Mississippi | University of Missouri |
University of Mount Union | University of New Haven | University of Northern Iowa |
University of Pittsburgh Greensburg | University of San Francisco | University of the Incarnate Word |
University of Wisconsin - Stout | Ursinus College | Ursuline College |
Utica University | Valparaiso University | Wagner College |
Washington & Jefferson College | Washington State University Global Campus | Wayne State University |
Webster University | Wentworth Institute of Technology | Western Governors University |
Western Illinois University | Western Kentucky University | Whitworth University |
Wichita State University | Wilkes University | William Carey University |
Wilmington College (OH) | Wilmington University (DE) | Worcester Polytechnic Institute |
Xavier University (OH) | York College of Pennsylvania |
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About Phi Theta Kappa
Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society recognizes the academic achievement of students at associate degree-granting colleges and helps them grow as scholars and leaders. Recognized by the American Association of Community Colleges as the official honor society for two-year colleges, PTK also serves as the nation's largest honor society in higher education, with more than 4.5 million members and nearly 1,200 chapters in 11 countries, including approximately 220,000 active members in colleges today. Through scholarships, leadership development, and transfer and career pathways, PTK helps students turn their potential into opportunity. Learn more at ptk.org.
Contact Information
Makayla Steede
press@ptk.org
ptk.org
SOURCE: Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/education/phi-theta-kappa-names-2026-transfer-honor-roll-recognizing-nations-leaders-in-transfer-st-1193509
