Burlington County College and Delaware Valley College recently signed an addendum to their existing agreement, which allows BCC students to easily transfer into three additional bachelor’s degree programs at DelVal and increases scholarship support for new transfer students from BCC. Under the agreement, BCC graduates will also enter DelVal as juniors so that they can take minors and focus on their major requirements right away.
A previous agreement facilitated the transfer of BCC students into 11 bachelor’s degree programs including: agribusiness, biology, business administration, chemistry, counseling psychology, criminal justice, English, food science, food technology, restaurant and food service management, and secondary education.
The addendum adds opportunities for BCC graduates who earn associate degrees in environmental science, sustainability, biotechnology, and communication arts to easily transfer into bachelor’s degree programs in environmental science, biology, and media and communication.
Under the new core-to-core agreement, students who earn an Associate of Arts (A.S) or Associate of Science (A.S.) from BCC will have satisfied DelVal’s general education requirements or core courses. This will allow BCC students to complete a minor or take electives that interest them without losing credits earned from their associate degrees.
“Under this expanded agreement students who earn associate degrees from BCC will be guaranteed admission as juniors, and will have satisfied DelVal’s core requirements,” said Dr. Bashar Hanna, DelVal’s vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty. “This will allow them to focus immediately on their major degree requirements.”
BCC students will now be eligible for DelVal transfer scholarships ranging from $10,000 to $19,500 per academic year for full-time students, and $1,500 per semester for part-time students. The previous scholarship amounts ranged from $8,000 to $17,000 per academic year. The expanded agreement underscores DelVal’s commitment to being the “most transfer friendly college” in the region.
“DelVal is making a wise and substantial investment in students who have proven their ability to excel in higher education at Burlington County College,” said BCC Interim President Dr. David Spang. “DelVal’s commitment to provide students with the programs and resources needed to succeed is an outstanding example of how community colleges can partner with four-year institutions to better serve students.”
DelVal has articulation agreements some New Jersey high schools — including Northern Burlington County Regional, which allow students to earn college credit. BCC graduates from high schools that DelVal has agreements with will be able to apply credits from both their high school and BCC careers toward a DelVal bachelor’s degree.
“BCC continues to educate outstanding students who are extremely prepared to continue and earn bachelor’s degrees,” said Dr. Joseph Brosnan, president of DelVal. “We look forward to welcoming more BCC students as a result of this new agreement, and will continue to explore additional partnership opportunities.”
Russell Redding, DelVal’s dean of agriculture and environmental sciences, believes this combination of options for transferring credits will be attractive for many students.
“We already have articulation agreements with agricultural science, environmental sciences, and agribusiness programs at 10 New Jersey high schools, including Northern Burlington County Regional High School,” said Redding. “This expanded partnership now provides a K-12-to-BCC-to-DelVal educational pathway that will be beneficial to all the institutions that are involved, but more importantly, to the students.”
BCC graduates interested in enrolling at DelVal in the spring semester can take advantage of the core-to-core, expanded Guaranteed Admission Transfer Agreement, and current transfer scholarships immediately. The increased scholarship amounts are available for students planning to enroll in the fall 2015 semester.
