Making the leap easy from Marion Tech to four-year business degree
October 1, 2008
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio -- With an increasing number of students around the country enrolling at two-year community colleges, Mount Vernon Nazarene University is making it easier for these students to continue on their path of education to earn a bachelor’s degree.
Marion Technical College signed an articulation agreement with MVNU on Monday, Sept. 29, at MTC’s campus. The agreement, developed over the last year in collaboration with both institutions, facilitates the transfer of business associate degree graduates into MVNU’s bachelor’s degree programs.
Degree Trends
Many students opt to attend a community college due to affordability or location. According to a recent article in “The Greentree Gazette,” annual community college tuition and fees are less than half the amounts charged at public four-year campus and, in some cases, one-tenth that of four-year private institutions.
This same article mentioned the number of community colleges in the United States has risen 17 percent in the last three decades, and they currently enroll 6.2 million students, or 35 percent of all U.S. college students. Twenty-eight percent of those enrolled at community colleges said they intend to use it as a stepping stone to a bachelor’s degree.
Seamless Transitions
The agreement essentially lays out a “road map” for MTC business students so they know which courses to take in order to fulfill their bachelor’s degree at MVNU. It also ensures that Marion Technical courses and credits are recognized at MVNU and that the transition is a seamless one for students. Present for the event were Wayne Pessia, MVNU transfer enrollment counselor; Mel Severns, MVNU registrar; Megan Haywood, administrative assistant to MVNU’s registrar; Vicky Wood, dean of Business and Information Technologies at MTC; and Dennis Budkowski, vice president Instructional Services at MTC.
MVNU currently has articulation agreements for social work students at Central Ohio Technical College, Marion Technical College, North Central State College and Zane State College. Business program articulation agreements are in process with these institutions and Columbus State. Agreements for education and nursing are being examined for the future.
Making a Difference
"The articulation agreement will further enhance the educational opportunities available to students of Marion Technical College, while also assisting in Mount Vernon Nazarene University’s mission to better serve the Ohio region,” said Pessia. “I am confident that this collaborative effort will have significant benefit for students in the Marion area.”
"Transferring has become a much more prevalent part of the academic plans of MTC students,” commented Vicky Wood. “Between 20-25 percent of MTC graduates currently move on to a four-year institution within six months of graduation, so our efforts have had to expand to accommodate these graduates’ goals. Collaborations with schools like MVNU give graduates the assurance that their academic credits and hard work will travel with them as their lives move forward.”
For more information about MVNU or its program offerings, contact Wayne Pessia at (740) 397-9000, ext. 4514.
About MTC
Marion Technical College was founded in 1970 with one priority: to improve employment opportunities for area residents through quality education at the local level. Classes began in 1971 with 187 students in four technical programs. Right now, over 2,400 students are enrolled in nearly 70 associate degree and certificate programs in business, information, engineering, nursing, medical sciences, public service, radiography and physical therapist assisting technologies.
About MVNU
Mount Vernon Nazarene University is a private, four-year, intentionally Christian teaching university for traditional age students, graduate students and working adults. U.S. News & World Report ranks MVNU in the top 50 Best in the Midwest (Baccalaureate) institutions for the fifth year in a row. With a 400-acre main campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and eight additional satellite Adult and Graduate Studies locations throughout the state, MVNU emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth and service to community and church. MVNU offers an affordable education to more than 2,670 students from 27 states and six countries/U.S. territories.