WMU and GRCC ink dual enrollment agreement for business students

KALAMAZOO--A new joint agreement between Grand Rapids Community College and Western Michigan University's Haworth College of Business will offer students joint admission to both schools and enable them to initiate their college studies at GRCC, and seamlessly transfer to WMU to complete a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.

WMU President John M. Dunn and GRCC President Steven C. Ender formalized the agreement with a signing ceremony June 4 at GRCC. A number of officials from both schools also participated.

Under the agreement, students would be admitted to both GRCC and WMU during their freshman year, and assuming they meet the requirements of the agreement, they would be admitted to WMU's Haworth College of Business prior to beginning their junior year.

"Grand Rapids Community College has long been our partner in providing top-notch higher education opportunities to students," says WMU's Dunn. "This agreement enhances the way both institutions are able to serve students by ensuring continuity and guaranteeing that every class successfully completed puts a student one step closer to his or her degree goal. Students who enroll in the program will be both Raiders and Broncos from their very first days in college."

A WMU advisor will be available at GRCC twice a month to meet with students in the program. In addition, students will be taking a one-credit WMU Business Enterprise course on the GRCC campus during their freshmen year at GRCC.

GRCC's Ender says more than 4,300 students from his school transfer to four-year schools each year, and the dual enrollment program is a perfect option for students who want to earn an associate degree and continue on for a bachelor's degree.

"Many students use GRCC as a launch pad to four-year universities, and this partnership allows GRCC to offer students a set curriculum and a smooth transition into a bachelor's program at a distinguished institution," says Ender.

The agreement guarantees that GRCC transfer students who earn an associate degree, with a minimum of a C in each class of the agreed upon curriculum and a 2.5 GPA overall, will be admitted to the WMU's Bachelor of Business Administration program.

"The agreement is ideal for GRCC students, if they are admissible to WMU, to be students of both programs their freshman year and fully transfer to WMU after two years," says Dr. Kay Palan, dean of the Haworth College of Business. "The program takes a lot of the guesswork out of credit evaluations and ensures a smooth transfer process."

The agreement has been in the works throughout the 2011-12 academic year. Both schools will market the program to their incoming students and both schools may link to each other's websites to provide information about the program to interested students.

The first participants in the joint business program are expected to enroll in fall 2012.