LCTCS and ULS Partner for Continuing Education Opportunities
LCTCS and ULS Partner for Continuing Education Opportunities – May 29, 2008
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Scholarships Available for Transferring Students
BATON ROUGE – Students completing two-year degree programs at schools in the Louisiana Community and Technical College System have a jump start on earning a Bachelor’s degree at the University of Louisiana System and may qualify for special scholarships.
There are currently 32 “2+2” agreements between the nine LCTCS community colleges and the eight UL System universities in programs for business, criminal justice, early childhood education, process plant technology, addiction studies, health information management, industrial technology, biology, construction, English, history, psychology, sociology, and toxicology.
A “2+2” agreement means that a student who completes an Associate’s degree program can transfer to a university for the equivalent Bachelor’s degree program classified as a Junior.
“Louisiana’s higher education community must continue to collaborate so that every citizen can have an opportunity to earn a college degree,” said UL System President Sally Clausen. “Our technical and community colleges are high quality alternatives for those who are not immediately prepared to enter a four-year program, and our universities are proud to forge partnerships and recruit their students.”
In addition to establishing 2+2 agreements, the eight universities in the UL System offer special scholarships for students transferring from two-year colleges. The scholarship award amounts range from $700 to $4,000 per year.
“These types of partnerships and opportunities are extremely significant for our community and technical college students,” said LCTCS President Dr. Joe D. May. “The agreements between the UL System and LCTCS will assist our students as they transition into high quality program areas at four-year universities and beyond. Agreements of this nature will make it one step easier for them to obtain their degree and ultimately join the state’s workforce.”
The Louisiana Community and Technical College System is the fastest-growing higher education system in the state with over 52,000 students and the University of Louisiana System is the largest system in the state with approximately 80,000 students.
This year, 63 percent of the 4,000 students who transferred from a two-year school to a four-year university chose a campus in the UL System.
Scholarship Recipient Ryan Lejeune
A transfer scholarship recipient, Ryan Lejeune of Baton Rouge, enrolled at Nicholls State University after earning an Associate’s degree in General Studies at Baton Rouge Community College. He was classified as a Junior when he transferred even though he lost a few class credits due to his shift in majors from General Studies to Allied Health.
Lejeune, who always planned to pursue a four-year degree but found community college to be a cheaper alternative, will have taken only 4.5 years to complete his Bachelor’s degree next summer.
He would recommend other high school students to pursue degrees through the community college and transfer route but cautioned students to “decide what you want to go into and pursue it directly because I would’ve finished in four years if I hadn’t switched paths.”
2+2 Participant Cleo Norris
Louisiana Delta Community College’s outgoing Student Government Association President Cleo Norris was cross-enrolled at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. A nontraditional student, Norris calls his path “unique.”
He joined the military immediately after high school and learned “in order to progress in life, you need an education.” He decided the “smart thing” would be to slowly get into the process.
“It was in my best interest to go to a community college, develop myself and knock out general education,” said Norris. Little did he know that he would go on to earn two Associate’s degrees (Business Management and Liberal Arts).
Norris was able to apply his degree in Business Management towards a Bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurship at ULM thanks to the 2+2 agreement.
Other factors that contributed to his decision to transfer to ULM were “location, location, location!” He further explained that Delta being on ULM’s campus allows for many students to cross-enroll and makes for an easy transition.
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