NEW PA RT N E R SH I P BE TWEEN CL A R KE U N IVER S ITY AND N ORT H E A ST I OWA COMMU N ITY COLLEG E CR EATES AN I N N OVAT IVE DUA L EN R OLLMEN T STR U CTU RE Clarke University and Northeast Iowa Community College
students will be awarded full credit for their AA or AS degree
(NICC) have entered into a new partnership that provides
and be able to graduate from Clarke in two years through
students with a streamlined pathway to a four-year degree
well-planned paths and majors. The articulated partnership
while saving money and helping build the local workforce.
is set to begin in the fall of 2020 and will guarantee Northeast Iowa Community College graduates junior status
The partnership offers dual admission for students studying
in seven major fields of study at Clarke: Business, Computer
Nursing at NICC, as well as those who do not quite meet
Information Systems, Education, Nursing, Psychology,
the admissions criteria of Clarke (e.g., grade point average,
Social Work, and Sport Management. Students will earn
ACT/SAT score) and/or would be better served financially
either a Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BS),
by starting at NICC. Students receive full access to services,
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), or Bachelor of Social
student life, and academic activities offered by both
Work (BSW) from Clarke University. Additional majors are
institutions. For example, students can live on the Clarke
also under discussion.
campus and have a four-year college experience while completing their transfer degree at NICC.
NICC President Liang Chee Wee, Ph.D., and Clarke President Thom D. Chesney, Ph.D., announced the partnership in
“NICC Today, CU Tomorrow” is designed for students to
January, on the campus of Clarke University. The partnership
complete their Associate of Arts (AA) or Associate of
is a result of several intentional conversations focused on
Science (AS) degree at NICC, with the junior and senior year of
making a bachelor’s degree accessible for students enrolled
the bachelor’s degree completed through Clarke. Transferring
at NICC. Current Clarke student Teri Kauffmann said, “My experience transferring to Clarke from NICC was amazing. My admissions counselors helped me with every step, answered all my questions, and made the switch very smooth. My professors have been great, everyone is helpful, and my academics have shown this was the right path for me. I am currently studying to earn my BSN at Clarke while working at Finley Hospital in the labor and delivery unit, all the while raising two small children with my husband. It was wonderful to attend NICC to take many of my prerequisites before
NICC President Liang Chee Wee, Ph.D., and Clarke President
coming to Clarke. It was cost-effective for me, and I was able
Thom D. Chesney, Ph.D.
to go at my own pace.”
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