[462] Student Transfers Streamlined With New Agreement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 7, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACTS: Tom Tozer, 615-898-2919 or ttozer@mtsu.edu;
Brenda J. Rayner, 901-333-4247 or bjbradley@southwest.tn.edu.

STUDENT TRANSFERS STREAMLINED WITH NEW AGREEMENT
MTSU, Southwest Tennessee Community College Sign Pact for Education

(MEMPHIS)—Tennessee’s largest undergraduate university and its largest two-year college are teaming up to streamline student transfers and improve access to higher education.
MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee and President Nathan L. Essex of Southwest Tennessee Community College signed a formal agreement, or memorandum of understanding, May 5 at the Memphis institution to assist students in a seamless transfer from Southwest to MTSU.
During the signing, McPhee emphasized that in light of legislation passed in January, there is a greater emphasis and focus on transferring, articulation and access to provide opportunities for citizens to earn associate and undergraduate degrees.
Courses currently considered in the agreement are those transferable to the recording industry, business administration, education and aerospace programs at MTSU.
"The obvious advantage is that our students are going to have increased access,” Essex noted. “Our emphasis throughout the state right now is retention and graduation. So to have this kind of partnership with a wonderful institution such as MTSU simply means that our students will have increased opportunities to get scholarship support and be able to pursue advanced degrees beyond the community-college level based on this partnership."
McPhee also stressed scholarship opportunities as well as the ease of the transfer process for Southwest students.
"We are going to be looking at providing special scholarships for these students, connecting them to our Honors College (and) providing a better transition and taking the hassle out of the transfer process,” the MTSU president said, “and so we are really excited. We get great students out of Memphis and from Southwest. We only see this as strengthening our relationship and partnership.”
Southwest Tennessee Community College, which opened in 2000, is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution with seven campus locations in the greater Memphis area. It offers associate’s degrees in multiple disciplines, including allied health, biotechnology and nursing; automotive, electronic and landscape technologies; business; graphic arts, information technology and engineering technologies; hospitality management and food services; human services, education and public safety; and legal, criminal justice and paralegal emphases.
MTSU, founded in 1911 as one of three state normal schools for teacher training, now confers master’s degrees in 10 areas as well as the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU was ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.

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IN BRIEF: Tennessee’s largest undergraduate university and its largest two-year college are teaming up to streamline student transfers and improve access to higher education. MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee and President Nathan L. Essex of Southwest Tennessee Community College signed a formal agreement, or memorandum of understanding, May 5 at the Memphis institution to assist students in a seamless transfer from Southwest to MTSU. During the signing, McPhee emphasized that in light of legislation passed in January, there is a greater emphasis and focus on transferring, articulation and access to provide opportunities for citizens to earn associate and undergraduate degrees. Courses currently considered in the agreement are those transferable to the recording industry, business administration, education and aerospace programs at MTSU.

For MTSU news and information, visit www.mtsunews.com.

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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For a color JPEG of the MOU signing, please contact Gina E. Fann in the Office of News and Public Affairs before 4 p.m. via e-mail at gfann@mtsu.edu or by calling 615-898-5385.