Follett Higher Education Group to Sponsor All-USA Community College Academic Team

JACKSON, Miss., March 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Follett Higher Education Group, the leading provider of college and university bookstore services and the foremost supplier of used textbooks in North America, will partner with Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society to sponsor the 2011 All-USA Community College Academic Team.  Through Follett's support, each of the 20 students selected to the Academic Team will receive a $2,500 scholarship to advance their educational pursuits.

The program, which was created 21 years ago, is widely recognized as the most prestigious academic honor for students attending community college.  Nominees are hand-selected by colleges for showing intellectual rigor and for demonstrating academic, leadership and civic growth.  The program also recognizes students who extend their community college education to better themselves, their schools and their surrounding communities. This year, more than 1,648 students from approximately 800 community colleges in 48 states, Guam and American Samoa were nominated for the honor.

In addition to the scholarship funding, the highly accomplished group of students will be featured in USA TODAY and will be celebrated at Phi Theta Kappa's Presidents Breakfast held during the Annual Convention of the American Association of Community Colleges on April 11, 2011, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The All-USA Teams will be presented by USA TODAY and Phi Theta Kappa and sponsored by the Follett Higher Education Group.

"We are grateful that Follett has provided the All-USA Community College Academic Team with financial support to make scholarships available to high achieving students," said Dr. Rod Risley, Executive Director of Phi Theta Kappa. "Organizations such as Follett and USA TODAY are stepping up to encourage academic achievement and helping to ensure our members graduate."

Follett currently manages more than 890 bookstores across the country, and has partnered with more community colleges than any other bookstore operator in the country.  A leader in educational services, Follett has implemented a variety of programs to help drive down the costs of education, including its textbook rental program, Rent-A-Text, and its digital textbook platform, CafeScribe®.  Rent-A-Text has saved students more than $110 million since fall 2010 and is expected to save students more than $130 million in the 2010-2011 academic year alone.

"I know the value of a community college education firsthand, because I 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 an important role in keeping our country competitive, and Follett is proud to support these institutions and their mission of delivering more affordable and accessible higher education. Our partnership with Phi Theta Kappa delivers on our commitment to support higher education, reduce costs for students and their families and recognize outstanding academic achievement."

In addition to its academic scholarship support of the All-USA Community College Academic Team, Follett will present $15,000 in 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.

For more information about Phi Theta Kappa and the All-USA Community College Academic Team, visit Phi Theta Kappa's website at http://www.ptk.org/.

About Phi Theta Kappa

Headquartered in Jackson, Miss., Phi Theta Kappa is the largest honor society in higher education, with 1,270 chapters on college campuses in the 50 U.S. states, Canada, Germany, 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 125,000 students inducted annually.

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 890 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 890 campus stores.

SOURCE Phi Theta Kappa