Follett Higher Education Group Increases Its Support for Student Achievement with $125,000 All-USA Community College Academic Team Sponsorship

OAK BROOK, Ill., April 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Follett Higher Education Group, the nation's leading operator of college campus stores and foremost supplier of used textbooks, will again partner with Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and USA TODAY to sponsor the 2012 All-USA Community College Academic Team. In their ongoing mission to drive student success, Follett has increased its sponsorship of this prestigious award to a total of $125,000.  

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"I know the value of a community college education firsthand, having attended the Community College of Allegheny County and benefited greatly from the education I received there," said Thomas A. Christopher, President of Follett Higher Education Group. "Community colleges play a crucial role in keeping our country competitive, and Follett is proud to partner with Phi Theta Kappa in recognizing outstanding academic achievements, helping students complete their academic mission and supporting America's future. We are proud to announce that we have increased our sponsorship commitment in 2012."

With Follett's $125,000 sponsorship, each of the 20 students selected to the All-USA Community College Academic Team will receive a scholarship to help them advance toward their educational goals. In addition, the winning students will be featured in USA TODAY and will be celebrated at the 54th Annual Phi Theta Kappa's Presidents Breakfast, held during the Annual Convention of the American Association of Community Colleges on April 23, 2012, in Orlando, Florida. The All-USA Community College Academic Team will be presented by USA TODAY and Phi Theta Kappa and sponsored by Follett Higher Education Group.

The program, which was created 22 years ago, is widely recognized as the most prestigious academic honor for students attending community college.  Nominees are hand-selected by colleges for continually demonstrating academic, leadership and civic growth.  Moving beyond the classroom, the program further recognizes students who extend their community college education to better themselves, their schools and their surrounding communities. This year, over 1,700 students from more than 800 community colleges in 48 states, Guam and Canada were nominated for the honor.

"We are grateful for Follett's increased and continued support of the All-USA Community College Academic Team.  Now more than ever, the work of Phi Theta Kappa is critical for our colleges and students, and for our nation's future in providing scholarships to deserving, accomplished students," said Dr. Rod Risley, Executive Director of Phi Theta Kappa. "Our current economic challenges have created a responsibility and an opportunity to nurture future leaders that will ensure the U.S. remains competitive on a global scale. We appreciate partners like Follett who are stepping up to encourage academic achievement."

In addition to its academic scholarship support of the All-USA Community College Academic Team, Follett will present textbook scholarships to the colleges of the student winners. Follett's Textbook Scholarship program will be awarded to at least three students on each campus.  Recipients of the textbook scholarships will be determined by each institution, with preference given to Phi Theta Kappa members. 

Follett currently manages more than 930 campus stores across the U.S. and Canada, including 374 community college bookstores – more than any other bookstore provider. Follett is consistently driving innovation and investing in student-focused services to maximize education and help administration and faculty navigate the digital transition in higher education. Providing the broadest selection of digital and print solutions to fit the unique needs of each campus they serve, Follett has implemented a variety of programs to help reduce the overall cost of education, including its textbook rental program, Rent-A-Text, and its digital textbook platform, CafeScribe^®.

Follett's newest affordability initiative, includED™, will allow schools to provide all required course materials as part of tuition or a single fee. This 'course materials with tuition' model will help lower the cost of education while also improving access to course materials and enhancing learning outcomes. To learn more about Follett's includED program, please visit www.follettforward.com.

About Follett Higher Education Group
Follett Higher Education Group of Oak Brook, Illinois, is the leading provider of bookstore services and the foremost supplier of used books in North America. Follett services five million students and over 400,000 faculty members through more than 900 stores. Follett also services more than 1,600 independent campus stores with its wholesale services, and has the most visited ecommerce collegiate website, efollett.com, that provides services and products through a network of more than 1,000 campus stores.

About Follett Corporation
Follett Corporation is a $2.7 billion, privately-held company that provides products, services and solutions to the educational marketplace. Follett Corporation was founded in 1873, and today is headquartered in River Grove, Illinois.

About USA TODAY
USA TODAY is a multi-platform news and information media company. Founded in 1982, USA TODAY's mission is to serve as a forum for better understanding and unity to help make the USA truly one nation. Today, through its newspaper, website and mobile platforms, USA TODAY connects readers and engages the national conversation. USA TODAY, the nation's number one newspaper in print circulation with an average of nearly 1.8 million daily, and USATODAY.com, an award-winning newspaper website launched in 1995, reach a combined 5.4 million readers daily. USA TODAY is a leader in mobile applications with more than ten million downloads on mobile devices.  The USA TODAY brand also includes USA TODAY Education and USA TODAY Sports Weekly. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).

About Phi Theta Kappa
Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, is the largest honor society in American higher education with more than 1,280 chapters on two-year and community college campuses in all 50 of the United States, Canada, Germany, Peru, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the British Virgin Islands, the United Arab Emirates and U.S. territorial possessions. More than 2.5 million students have been inducted since its founding in 1918, with approximately 135,000 students inducted annually.

SOURCE Follett Higher Education Group