Partnerships make higher ed affordable, attainable and accessible

December 12, 2018
photo of Titan to Beacon LCC NCU signing

Lane Community College transfer students can now earn a bachelor’s or master’s in less time and at less cost than ever before at Bushnell University (formerly Northwest Christian University) and the Oregon State University College of Business, thanks to new articulation agreements championed by Lane Community College President Margaret Hamilton.

Hamilton reached out to local universities soon after arriving at Lane in summer 2017 as the college’s seventh president. She had years of experience developing successful partnerships during a long career in the New Jersey higher ed system.

NCU and OSU readily agreed to work together to smooth out discrepancies in how the respective institutions measure academic credits to ensure transfer success. In America, colleges often reject credit from other colleges because they don’t know or don’t trust how those credits are awarded. Transfer students have to repeat coursework, at a cost of thousands of dollars and hours, or give up their dreams.

“We all serve learners from diverse backgrounds and a range of socioeconomic levels,” said Hamilton. “We all believe that every student deserves a quality education. It just makes sense to align our standards so that higher education truly is affordable and accessible.”

At NCU, the Titan-to-Beacon agreement streamlines access for Lane transfer grads in psychology, business, music, nursing, and human services. At NCU they can enroll directly in upper division courses and complete their bachelor’s or master’s in less time.

At OSU, LCC business grads can transfer 120 credit hours and then complete only 60 upper-division credits at OSU, obtaining a bachelor’s in business administration in just one year. “It’s essentially a 2+1 program,” said Chris Rehn, LCC’s business division dean.

Hamilton is thrilled with the success of these partnerships, but she’s not done yet. She’s currently in talks with Pacific University and she’s keeping a very determined eye on additional Oregon universities.

Photo: Seated are Northwest Christian University President Joseph Womack and Lane Community College President Margaret Hamilton, with trustees and colleagues at the historic Titan to Beacon Agreement signing ceremony on Nov. 19, 2018.

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Joan Aschim

Lane Community College educates over 25,000 students annually at six locations across Lane County and online. Students and alumni from all 50 states and 79 countries create more than an $850 million dollar impact on the local economy, helping to support more than 13,000 local jobs. Lane provides affordable, quality, professional technical and college transfer programs; business development and employee training; academic, language and life skills development; and lifelong personal development and enrichment courses.

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