The University of Colorado Colorado Springs, in collaboration with community college partners, is launching several initiatives designed to ease student access to four-year degrees without having to leave their home communities.
“We are pleased to be working with our community college partners to increase access to four-year degrees in southern Colorado,” UCCS Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak said.
In the fall, Lamar Community College and the UCCS Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences launched a “2+2” program that allows nursing students to first complete an associate’s degree and, later, a bachelor’s degree without leaving Lamar.
“The advantage for nursing students re-entering the field or seeking to improve their skills without leaving their home communities is incredible,” Shockley-Zalabak said. “Nurses are in high demand everywhere but particularly so in rural Colorado. This program allows students to continue their current work or family responsibilities while building their futures and the future of their home communities.”
By fall 2011, Lamar Community College will manage cohort groups of local students who have two years of work at LCC and enroll in their final two years with UCCS programs available in Lamar. Initial programs will include nursing, business, and criminal justice.
John Marrin, president, Lamar Community College said:
“Our partnership with UCCS will enhance our continued vision of offering the highest quality education in an environment of service excellence. Students will be able to complete bachelor’s degrees without leaving our campus and while still having complete academic and student support services available to them.”
Engineering robotics courses currently are offered at Otero Junior College, La Junta. By allowing students to take pre-engineering courses at OJC, they remain on-pace to transfer to the UCCS College of Engineering and Applied Science and graduate in four years.
“By design, engineering courses have low enrollments,” Shockley-Zalabak said. “By using technology to extend the classroom, we allow students in rural Colorado access to an engineering program that is one of the finest in the nation without relocating until their junior year.”
Jim Rizzuto, president, Otero Junior College said:
“Our partnership with UCCS in offering pre-engineering and bachelor degrees in nursing will be extremely beneficial to our students in that it will afford them the opportunity to access programs and pursue their degrees without leaving home. I see more course offerings being developed in cooperation with UCCS through the use of the Cisco Telepresence system in the years to come.”
“I believe this is a model of how four and two year institutions of higher education can work together to better meet the needs of our students and the communities in Colorado that we serve.”
The programs utilize a UCCS partnership with computer networking giant CISCO to deliver courses via CISCO telepresence. The courses are delivered in high-definition television and allow for real-time student and faculty interaction. Traditional on-line courses also are available.
Currently, UCCS is working with Lamar Community College, Trinidad State Junior College, and Otero Junior College using distance technologies and CISCO systems. Concurrent engineering enrollment is available at Pikes Peak Community College.
UCCS will offer three on-line bachelor’s degrees by fall with a planned expansion to five programs based on market need, Shockley-Zalabak said. The programs will allow students at Colorado community colleges to complete bachelor’s degrees without leaving their home communities or with a combination of on-line and on-campus, including weekend, classes. The model builds on a popular UCCS Distance Master of Business Administration program which utilizes on-line education to reach working professionals.
For several years, UCCS has worked closely with Colorado community colleges to ensure that credits earned at the community college level transfer to UCCS. Community college students who enroll in a UCCS University Connection program receive application fee waivers, are eligible for as much as $1,600 in tuition reimbursements, and receive specialized advising to ensure smooth transition.
Last fall, a record 921 students transferred to UCCS, many from the state’s community colleges. The largest group of students transferring to UCCS came from Pikes Peak Community College. UCCS and PPCC have a long-standing cooperative relationship that includes sharing of staff and faculty resources.
The efforts are part of an overall southern Colorado strategy that recognizes college attendance and income levels in the region are below state averages. Ten two- and four-year colleges have joined together to improve access to higher education and to create partnerships between each other, with private businesses, and regional economic development proponents.
The member colleges are: Fort Lewis College, Western State College, Adams State College, Pikes Peak Community College, Pueblo Community College, Colorado State University-Pueblo, Otero Junior College, Trinidad State Junior College, Lamar Community College and UCCS.
UCCS recently received a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to work with the nine other institutions in southern Colorado to create a model access program to be made available to 309 regional middle and high schools.
UCCS, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in Colorado Springs, is one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The University offers 36 bachelor’s degrees, 19 master’s, and five doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls about 9,000 students annually.