A community college in Raleigh County has partnered with an online university to allow students to continue their education without having to travel far to do so.
The partnership between New River Community and Technical College and Western Governors University was announced at a press conference and signing event Wednesday at Beaver Community College.
Under the agreement, New River CTC graduates and employees can pursue additional education through Western Governors University, a fully accredited online university.
“I think the really important thing is that it gives students a clear path to a good career with an associate’s degree, but then they can pursue that for the bachelor’s degree,” said Wendy Patriquin, dean of transfer and pre- professional of New River CTC. programs. “Everything is online…and students can stay here and continue their studies.”
Patriquin said their students regularly attend other colleges and universities they partner with, such as Concord, Bluefield State, West Virginia State, West Virginia University, and Marshall, but this new partnership means students don’t have to. to move to pursue their goals.
Under this partnership, New River CTC graduates and employees can begin earning a bachelor’s or master’s degree at one of WGU’s four colleges: College of Business, College of Information Technology, College of Health Professions, and Teachers. Middle School.
Under this agreement:
WGU will develop, publish, and maintain all transfer articulation pathways, which will be accessible through the www.wgu.edu/PACC homepage.
WGU will provide webinar training as well as print and digital materials to faculty and staff to ensure understanding of pathways for collaboration and articulation.
New River CTC graduates and staff are also eligible to apply for the WGU Community College Partner Scholarship for $2,500, which is paid to recipients in increments of $625 per semester for up to four terms based on satisfactory academic performance.
Kyle Utter, senior regional director, strategic partnerships for WGU, said WGU representatives have been meeting with West Virginia community colleges all week to build similar partnerships.
Utter said creating these types of partnerships, especially in West Virginia, is important because they give people opportunities they might not otherwise have had.
“There are 170,000 West Virginians with a college and no degree,” he said. “So we’re here to help you with that number.”
He added that WGU had already had 18 current New River CTC students and 12 New River CTC graduates come to WGU prior to the formation of this partnership.
“It was just organically because people didn’t know of any partnerships that we had in place,” Utter said. “So I think if we could help more people, more people from New River (CTC), take the next step – if they need flexibility, if they need an online program, if they they need something they don’t have to travel to, something they can do on nights and weekends, that sort of thing.Then they could come to WGU.
Utter said just under 600 West Virginia students currently attend WGU and 1,200 have graduated.
Utter said one thing he noticed while touring the state was the challenge many West Virginians face when it comes to accessing high-speed broadband. debit, essential to attend an online university.
Although WGU already has an online access scholarship that provides recipients with a laptop and an access point, he added that they may need to seek additional funds to help prospective students in Virginia- Westerners who don’t have reliable internet access.
WGU is open to all qualified West Virginia residents and offers affordable tuition and a competency-based model that allows students greater flexibility to graduate at their own pace. For more information about WGU, visit wgu.edu.
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