Partnership Creates Easy Pathway for Community College Students to Earn a Four-Year Degree
Methodist University in Fayetteville, N.C., and Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, N.C., have signed an agreement that creates a seamless path for students to transfer and pursue their four-year degree at MU.
A virtual signing facilitated by MU Provost Suzanne Blum Malley, Ph.D., featured administrators from both institutions – including Methodist University President Stanley T. Wearden, Ph.D., and Dr. John Dempsey, the president at Sandhills – and is available on the MU YouTube channel (https://youtu.be/rIBA1kotp0A).
“Community Colleges are integral to the future of higher education, both to North Carolina and to the nation at large,” Wearden said. “Colleges like Sandhills create a local and affordable opportunity for many excellent students who would be unable to enter higher education without that community college in their area.”
Wearden praised Dr. Beth Carter, MU’s vice provost for online and extended learning, and Dr. Rebecca Roush, senior vice president for academic affairs and institutional planning at Sandhills, for their hard work and careful attention to transfer detail and curriculum that is making the transition from Sandhills to Methodist so smooth. Both schools plan to work together for many years for the benefit of their students.
“Sandhills Community College is well-aligned academically with Methodist University,” Wearden said. “We have several related programs; both have excellent curriculum and faculty, and this partnership will help put a bachelor’s degree within reach for many Sandhills Community College graduates.”
The new program opens doors, relieves burdens, and provides aid to students.
“This is going to enhance our ability to attract and retain students,” said Dempsey. “We are very excited about the future, the teacher training programs coming down the line, and the ways working together can reduce the financial burden on the families of our students in the long run.”
For more information about transferring college credits to Methodist University, visit MU’s transfer credit page.