By VASHTI HARRIS
Staff Writer
HAZLET–Aiming to make it more convenient and affordable for local students to get a four-year degree, Georgian Court University and Brookdale Community College joined forces to create “Degree Up.”
Stretching beyond’s its Lakewood campus, Georgian Court University held an open house event to introduce its latest collaborative degree program, on May 17 at Brookdale’s Northern Monmouth Higher Education Center located at 1 Crown Plaza.
“Georgian Court University has always been a premier transfer destination for Brookdale students, and this new partnership makes it simpler and more convenient than ever for students in the Bayshore area to earn a four-year degree close to home,” Maureen Murphy, Brookdale Community College’s president, said.
Degree Up with Georgian Court University at Hazlet is a four-year degree completion program that offers seven majors some of which includes: psychology, english, business administration, interdisciplinary studies, and education which must be paired with a psychology, interdisciplinary studies or english degree program, according to information provided by Georgian Court University.
This fall the program will officially launch its first semester at its newest location in Hazlet, according to Justin G. Roy, Georgian Court University’s dean of admissions.
The program is geared toward transfer students and adult learners to help them earn a bachelor’s degree at an affordable price.
“Our partnership with Brookdale focuses on three very important factors, one is affordable, two is convenience, and the third thing is transfer friendly. It’s very important that when you are an adult student is that you know, going in, that you are going to get the best bang for your buck and that you are going to be able to get through the process cleanly and quickly as possible and in a short of time as possible,” Patrick M. Givens said, Georgian Court University’s director of graduate and professional studies admissions.
The program charges $500 per credit which includes fees. Students can also take advantage of financial aid which can possibly cover most of their bill, according to Givens.
Students can transfer up to 75 credits from Brookdale Community College or any other two-year institutions and the university generally accepts up to 90 credits from regionally accredited institutions, according to information provided by Georgian Court University.
Courses are offered in seven in a half and 15-week sessions. Classes are offered in the evenings and are available online, in class and in hybrid, which is combination of in person lectures and online assignments, according to information provided by Georgian Court University.
During the open house event potential students were given a tour of the Degree Up office and classrooms and were provided with more information about the program.
President of Georgian Court University Joseph R. Marbach said the university decided to launch its newest program in Hazlet to provide local students with a closer option.
“We are just very excited to have this opportunity to offer Georgian Court education to a population that would normally would not take advantage of it, because of the distance. So when the opportunity to offer a degree completion program at Brookdale in the Hazlet community was presented to us we jumped at the opportunity and we know what a great partner Brookdale as been in the past, so we knew that this would be a first class partnership offering students in the this areas really a first class degree,” Marbach said.
Hazlet Mayor Sue Kiley and Deputy Mayor Scott Aagre also attended the open house.
“I am not sure if this is public knowledge but Raritan High School already works with Brookdale Community College so that the students can sign up for a program and get an associate’s degree in science while they are still in high school, which is a great program and having this facility and these opportunities here makes for a very nice transition for students if they are trying to decide where their going to go and what they are going to do,” Kiley said.
For more information about Georgian Court University and Brookdale Community College’s Degree Up program visit www.hazlet.georgian.edu or call 732-835-6644.
Contact Vashti Harris at [email protected]