NEWS RELEASE DATE: Aug. 6, 2012 FOR USE: Now CONTACT: Steve Quakenbush
GCCC And Newman University Sign New Articulation Agreement
Partnership provides guaranteed acceptance of GCCC graduates at Wichita institution
Garden City Community College and Newman University have signed a new general articulation agreement, guaranteeing the acceptance of GCCC graduates as Newman juniors.
Newman and GCCC representatives marked the occasion today in a gathering on the Garden City campus, with Newman alumnus Janie Perkins, a member of the Kansas Board of Regents, on hand.
The agreement, signed by Dr. Herbert Swender, GCCC president, and Dr. Noreen Carrocci, Newman president, takes effect for the 2012-2013 academic year. Any GCCC graduate with an associate in arts or associate in science degree, it stipulates, will be accepted automatically with junior class standing at the Wichita-based, private, Catholic-affiliated liberal arts university.
“We are exited and honored to be here,” said Dr. Michael Austin, Newman provost and vice president for academic affairs. “Newman University welcomes the opportunity to work with Garden City Community College for the smooth transfer of students to the baccalaureate programs we offer.”
Austin said the agreement would be reviewed biennially by both institutions, and included in each school’s course catalog. He added that it would remain in force indefinitely.
“As we have emphasized before, we are truly gratified to have an institution such as Newman University pursue our graduates,” Swender said. “This is good for our college, this is good for the university, and ultimately it is something that will be nothing but beneficial for the students we serve here in Southwest Kansas.”
Swender and Austin were joined in the ceremony by Kristi Ruge, Newman transfer admissions counselor and alumnus; Perkins, of Garden City; and Ryan Ruda, GCCC vice president for student services. While Newman is not affiliated with the Regents, which govern the state universities and coordinate the 19 Kansas community colleges, Perkins said she was pleased to be on hand because Newman is her alma mater.
While GCCC credits are regularly accepted by bachelor-level colleges and universities across the state and nation, the articulation agreement offers students an added benefit.
“Newman now accepts the GCCC associate of arts and associate of science degree as meeting the Newman studies skills and general education requirements,” Austin explained. The only exceptions are philosophy and theology courses.
The university has also arranged articulation agreements with approximately 20 other Kansas colleges, he added.
Today’s signing in the president’s office at the GCCC Student and Community Services Center is the third academic partnership completed recently by the community college.
GCCC and Kansas State University signed an innovative reverse transfer agreement in July, making it possible for students to complete their community college associate degrees even after transferring to KSU. That arrangement was inked by Swender and Dr. Kirk Schultz, K-State president, in Anderson Hall at Manhattan.
Previously, GCCC and Sterling College, a private, Presbyterian-affiliated institution, signed an agreement making additional bachelor’s degree opportunities available in Southwest Kansas. That partnership provides guaranteed admission at Sterling to GCCC graduates, and allows them to complete their junior and senior-level bachelor’s degree coursework through Internet classes, without attending on the campus in Sterling, a community located northwest of Hutchinson.
In addition to the agreements, GCCC also recently earned a ranking from CNNMoney Magazine as one of the top 24 community colleges in the nation for student success.
