By Saveria Symons
According to a 2011 College Board report, as the nation prepares to meet President Obama’s goal of eight million new college graduates by 2020, the transfer process — the pathway between community colleges and four-year institutions — will take on an increasingly vital role.
Mercer County Community College (MCCC) is partnering with multiple four-year institutions to help its graduates make that transition, while saving them significant dollars in the process.
According to MCCC’s Director of Transfer Services Laurene Jones, “Families today are faced with high costs at four-year colleges, and more are turning to community colleges as a way of making college affordable. Nationwide there has been an increase in the number of community college students, coupled with a decline in their average age.”
In addition to articulation agreements with numerous colleges, MCCC holds Dual Admissions Agreements with others, and partners with three schools through The University Center which offers bachelor’s degree programs right at the college’s West Windsor Campus —William Paterson University, Fairleigh Dickinson University and Felician College.
Additional articulation agreements signed in recent months have added opportunities for students who wish to begin at MCCC, then transfer their credits and continue at a four-year school. Rutgers Business School (RBS) now enables Business Administration or Liberal Arts honors graduates to enter with third year (junior) status if they have a minimum GPA of 3.5. A partnership with Drexel University enables Nursing graduates to transfer their credits and earn their BS in Nursing online. For Education graduates, The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) enables easy transfer into the Technology/Pre-Engineering Education major. At Rowan University, Mercer’s Engineering Science graduates can more easily enter a variety of bachelor’s degree programs in the Rowan School of Engineering.
Two new agreements assist Mercer’s Fire Science graduates, who can now transfer up to 70 credits to the University of Maryland’s Fire Service Administration bachelor’s degree program, where scholarships are offered to students with a GPA of 3.0 or better. At Holy Family University, Fire Science graduates can transfer more easily into the bachelor of arts degree in Fire Science and Public Safety Administration. MCCC’s Fire Science program is offered in conjunction with the Dempster Fire Training Center.
Through Dual Admissions Programs, MCCC graduates who follow a specific course of study and graduate with the required grade point average are guaranteed admission to one of nine four-year colleges. These programs are designed for students who are just beginning their college work and who have selected a major and a specific college that they plan to attend. Participating schools are TCNJ, Rider, Rutgers, LaSalle, Montclair State, NJIT, Penn State Abington, Saint Peter’s College and Wilmington University.
For further information visit www.mccc.edu or contact the MCCC Transfer and Career Service Office at 609-570-3397.

