WILMINGTON — The international honor society, Phi Theta Kappa, selected Wilmington College to its 2020 Honor Roll featuring America’s top four-year colleges and universities for creating programs and pathways that are especially effective for transfer students.

This marks the third consecutive year WC received this honor, which distinguishes the top 25 percent of the nation’s colleges that earned the highest “transfer friendliness ratings.” The College is among seven institutions in Ohio to garner this year’s honor — and one of only three to earn such recognition a third consecutive year.

Heather Miller, assistant director of admission, said Phi Theta Kappa’s continuing recognition of WC’s commitment to serving its transfer students at the highest levels is especially gratifying.

“We strive to make the transfer process as seamless as possible for our students,” she said. “Establishing a personal connection to our transfer students is the key component to our ‘transfer friendliness.’”

Phi Theta Kappa lauded the College’s “excellence and success” in providing a program of accommodating transfer students from two-year institutions. It evaluated such areas as scholarships and financial aid, admission outreach, student support services and student engagement opportunities.

One of those especially unique elements is the College’s Transfer Advantage, which recognizes general education courses that associate degree recipients have taken at regionally accredited two-year schools, as satisfying WC’s graduation requirements. This is essentially unprecedented for a private institution in Ohio.

As such, the College re-shaped its general education requirements so many community college graduates can continue their pursuit for a bachelor’s degree at WC with the expectation of needing only two more years of studies.

Also, the College features a transfer-friendly transcript evaluation program and a website designed to answer most questions and concerns of transfer students.

Miller said the College “greatly values” the education its transfer students have received at two-year institutions and is uniquely set up to provide this student population with a high-quality experience.

Miller added that, in spite of the physical limitations for face-to-face contact in place as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, she and her staff are available to serve students remotely.

“We want to provide students with as much of a sense of normalcy as possible as we all look forward to the fall and beyond,” she said. “I tell each of my students that I am here to help and we are all in this together.”