Local colleges offer joint programs with other institutions
Some area colleges are providing students with unique opportunities to prepare for their careers as they consider post-graduate studies.
Washington & Jefferson College has done that with its involvement with joint programs with many other universities. The most recently developed are a Master of Athletic Training (MAT) with Chatham University and a Master of Science Program with West Virginia University.
In such programs, the students earn their undergraduate degree at W&J, then their graduate degree at the university involved.
“It speaks to the high quality of W&J’s curriculum that our courses can transfer into graduate level programs at these well-respected universities,” said Dr. Jeffrey Frick, W&J’s vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college. “Our students will benefit greatly in both their academic studies and their career preparation from these strong partnerships with Chatham University and West Virginia University.”
When a student completes the program, the student receives both a Bachelor of Arts degree from W&J and a degree from the partner school, which could be a second bachelor’s degree or a graduate degree, depending on the program they went into.
Waynesburg University also offers joint programs, geared toward helping students complete a program started at Waynesburg or finish a program that may have begun at another school. The most frequently used joint program at Waynesburg involves students working to become registered nurses.
There are articulation agreements with community colleges during which the student finishes at Waynesburg for one year. There also are programs in which the college partners with area hospitals.
Sharin Payne, Waynesburg’s vice president of enrollment, explained that Waynesburg accepts the credits the students earn at community colleges or the hospital, then the students finish their degree – usually liberal arts – at Waynesburg.
“You’ve already had the foundational work to become the registered nurse, but this is the rest of the stuff to finish the bachelor’s degree,” Payne said. “Many community hospitals have it in their strategic plan to have a certain level of their nursing workforce as bachelor’s (degree) educated. We work cooperatively with as many partners as we can to help that happen.”
Representatives from W&J and Waynesburg said students like to take advantage of these joint programs because it reduces their time in college – lessening the expense for their education – and gets them into the workforce quicker.
The MAT program at W&J offers students the option to complete a 3+2 (students spend three years at W&J and two years at Chatham) track or a 4+2 track. Students can major in a variety of programs to gain acceptance to the graduate program, but must complete various biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and psychology courses.
The programs can provide exploration opportunities for students as they think about what exactly their career path might be.
“This gives them an opportunity to explore more broadly before committing, but still be able to do it in a shorter period of time,” explained Steve Malinak, associate dean of academic affairs and a professor of chemistry at W&J.
The partnership with West Virginia University establishes a 4+1 program which allows W&J students to complete a graduate degree in one year after completion of an undergraduate degree in economics at W&J. This is the first joint program involving the economics department.
Qualified graduating W&J students are eligible for a waiver of WVU’s application fee and of the Graduate Record Exam or Graduate Management Admission Test. Three W&J undergraduate courses will transfer into the Master of Science in Economics program as graduate courses, provided that the student meets the transfer requirements set by W&J and WVU.
“We have had several students pursue master’s degrees in economics at a variety of institutions in the past, but we think this new agreement with WVU will be particularly beneficial to W&J students looking to further their education following graduation,” said Dr. Robert Dunn, associate professor of economics. “An economics degree from W&J and a Master of Science degree from WVU in five years is pretty incredible. Being able to do that in five years is really a big advantage and certainly it reduces the overall cost.”
W&J also is involved in a number of other joint programs with Chatham, as well as programs with institutions such as the University of Pittsburgh, Temple University, Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Waynesburg has agreements with schools such as Community College of Allegheny County, Community College of Beaver County, Westmoreland County Community College, Butler County Community College and Pennsylvania Highlands Community College.
There also are agreements in place with West Virginia University for medical school, as well as an agreement with Duquesne University School of Law.
“Students understand what their pathway is and having very clear direction about what they have to do to achieve that,” Payne explained. “Some students like when they have those very clear steps placed in front of them. It’s advantageous to those students who want to know every step of their path along the way.”