Delgado Students to Receive Phi Theta Kappa Scholarships

October 12, 2017

The Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) is designating $59,000 to cover the international and local membership fees of 900 prospective Phi Theta Kappa members attending system colleges including Delgado Community College.

“Our research shows that Phi Theta Kappa members in Louisiana are three times more likely to complete a degree or credential than their peers.,” said Phi Theta Kappa President and CEO Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner. “Our research also shows that cost is a barrier for some students who have earned membership. We are so thrilled with the investment LCTCS is making in their students and we strongly believe the state of Louisiana will see a return on that investment through increased degree and credential attainment.”

The 900 membership scholarships, valued at $65 each, will cover international and regional fees for eligible students who demonstrate financial need. Recipients will be nominated by local chapter advisors, and scholarships will be allocated by each chapter at an LCTCS college.

“The goal behind this initiative is to double our current PTK membership this year by removing the financial barrier of membership fees,” said Dr. Amber Blair, Coordinator of Student Engagement and Grants for LCTCS. “If a chapter currently has 100 members, they will receive an equivalent number of scholarships to award, effectively doubling membership.”   

So far more than 400 students have already been nominated for the new scholarship at Fletcher Technical Community College, Central Louisiana Technical Community College, South Louisiana Community College and Delgado Community College.

The state of Louisiana has set ambitious goals for college completion — to double the number of graduates to 40,000 annually, double the earnings of graduates to $1.5 billion, and quadruple the number of transfers to universities to more than 10,000 annually — all by 2020.

When 2017 research showed that 90 percent of Louisiana Phi Theta Kappa members go on to complete a degree and/or transfer to a four-year college, LCTCS administrators saw the honor society as a tool to achieve their objectives. The new membership scholarships will be divided among the 13 Phi Theta Kappa chapters in LCTCS.