On Thursday, Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) and Carlow University signed an agreement allowing students to earn their associates degree at CCAC and then seamlessly transfer to Carlow University.
“In so doing, together our two institutions are helping to ensure that future graduates have the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in our diverse and changing world,” said CCAC President Quintin Bullock.
One of the provisions of the agreement is that CCAC Nursing students will have the option of being simultaneously admitted Carlow’s RN-BSN program with reduced tuition.
Suzanne Mellon, president of Carlow University, said this partnership is a great way to build the local workforce.
“Together we are empowering students to understand themselves as learners and enable our graduates to succeed in today’s environment,” she said.
Students have been going from CCAC to Carlow for decades. CCAC says that from Dec. 1, 2011 and Aug. 31, 2013, 405 students transferred from CCAC to the university in Oakland. Allyson Lowe, dean of leadership and social change at Carlow, said this partnership will make that easier. She said it's often difficult for students think about transitioning while they are still in school.
“The more simple and clear and seamless we can make that pathway, knowing that your associates degree will come over in its entirety, you can start the next step of finishing out a major or a degree, understanding the opportunities for scholarship and financial aid, understanding that you can essentially be dual-enrolled between two institutions," she said. "All of those things make it easier for people to see how they can do this, how easily they can do this, how efficiently and cost-effectively they can do this.”
The partnership goes into effect in the fall of 2015.
