FLAGLER DEVELOPS RELATIONSHIP WITH BERMUDA COLLEGE

By Anna Boone

A2014Coastal Environmental Science trip to Bermuda was the catalyst for a young working relationship between Flagler College and Bermuda College that was made official through the signing of an articulation agreement last month.

Bermuda College, the sole institute for higher education on the north Atlantic island, is a two-year community college offering students coursework toward associate’s degrees. To streamline their graduated students’ path toward obtaining bachelor’s degrees, the community college has developed an extensive global network of transfer agreements like the one Flagler formally established in October of 2022.

What makes articulation agreements like this an especially attractive pathway for students is the contractual guarantee between institutions that applicable credits will be properly transferred toward the degree they’re seeking.

Bermuda College Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs, Phyllis Curtis-Tweed, said this particular agreement is a “two plus two” pathway with Flagler’s Business Administration, Education, Hospitality and Tourism Management and Coastal Environmental Science programs.

“The student who completes their associate’s degree at Bermuda College can then matriculate into the related baccalaureate program at Flagler, and it will only take two years to complete the program,” Curtis-Tweed said.

Compared to the 36 other institutions they have signed similar agreements with, Curtis-Tweed said Flagler College seems like a particularly “excellent fit,” for their graduates to continue in higher education.

There has been a strong connection between Flagler’s Coastal Environmental Science program and Bermuda’s Marine Science program over the years. Flagler donor James Babcock who first facilitated introductions to Bermuda College. Babcock is a steady proponent of Flagler’s Coastal Environmental Science (CES) program and has strong ties in Bermuda, including serving on the board of the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo. In 2014, Babcock facilitated a partnership between the aquarium and Flagler’s CES program to host students for a study abroad summer course that he funded.