MORRISVILLE, NY—Morrisville State is making it easier for community college transfer students to earn their four-year degree.
Thanks to a new transfer pledge, accepted students transferring with a completed A.A.S. or A.S. degree can transfer with full junior status into an aligned bachelor’s degree program at Morrisville State. The pledge also includes specific guarantees and financial support opportunities.
“Morrisville State is looking forward to creating an extended network of community colleges seeking baccalaureate transfer opportunities for their technically trained A.A.S. graduates,” said MSC President Dr. William Murabito. “Morrisville has a strong tradition of providing experiential learning curricula designed to prepare students for jobs requiring both baccalaureate degrees and day-one job skills.”
“The Morrisville State College Transfer Pledge is an opportunity designed to ensure that transfer students receive full credit when transferring with an associate degree entering into an aligned bachelor’s degree program,” Erin Longo, transfer coordinator at Morrisville State, explained.
In short, the new agreement eliminates reviewing transfer status based on a course by course review, which was followed in the past.
“The new pledge provides that students will be advised and provided with a schedule which allows for graduation in just two additional years in keeping with Chancellor Nancy Zimpher’s vision to Finish in Four,” Longo said.
Finish in Four is a SUNY system-wide plan which guarantees that undergraduates will be able to take the courses they need to complete their bachelor’s degrees within four years, provided the students maintain their grades and communicate with their academic advisers.
Similarly, through the MSC Transfer Pledge, if classes aren’t available for students to complete their degree in the four-semester timeframe, MSC will pay for the remaining courses necessary for students to meet their graduation requirements.
To further help transfer students advance toward their degrees, the pledge, which takes effect in fall 2015, also provides them with eligibility for a guaranteed preferred housing scholarship for four consecutive semesters. Merit-based scholarships are also available for high-achieving transfer students.
Under the agreement, students must follow certain guidelines. They must be enrolled in four consecutive semesters, must maintain satisfactory academic standing, remain in good judicial standing, and successfully complete all classes in sequential order as advised.
While students make the commitment, Morrisville State, in turn, will provide an effective advising program and help navigate students through the process.
“Overall, this transfer pledge will benefit institutions by providing a seamless pathway for the students,” Longo said. “We have several wonderful institutions we are currently working with to sign collaboration agreements, and we are more than excited to be partnering with them.”
“Faculty members of several departments at Morrisville State College are actively working with other institutions to develop the completion schedules for students who join from the aligned programs,” said Dr. Joseph Bularzik, dean of the School of Science, Technology and Health Studies at Morrisville State. “These schedules will provide the students with all the academic requirements and professional skills to complete their bachelor’s degree within four semesters.”
On March 5 Morrisville State will host partner colleges to announce the program during a formal signing, which will be held in the MSC Athletic Stadium Hospitality Suite. The event will include a formal signing for specific programs and a discussion of additional potential program alignments.
Morrisville State has further demonstrated its commitment to education this past year forming several traditional articulation agreements into bachelor degree programs. Those formed include equine science bachelor degree programs with Canton, Delhi, and Medaille; an information technology bachelor degree articulation with Herkimer County Community College’s associate degree in Mobile App Development, and a signed 2+2 umbrella joint admission agreement with Mohawk Valley Community College.
Morrisville State’s curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.
In addition to being named to the 2014 President’s Higher Community Education Service Honor Roll, the college was recognized by U.S. News and World Report as an institution in the top tier of the Best Regional Colleges list and ranked second among regional colleges nationwide for outperforming its anticipated graduation rate.