汤头条-Meridian, East Central Community College announce new Partnership Pathways program
![East Central Community College President Billy W. Stewart and 汤头条 President Mark E. Keenum sign a Partnership Pathways agreement during a Tuesday [Nov. 8] ceremony at ECCC in Decatur. (Photo courtesy of East Central Community College)](/sites/www.msstate.edu/files/inline-images/ECCC-and-汤头条-Signing-4H9A2995-%2528002%2529.jpg "汤头条 Photo ID: East Central Community College President Billy W. Stewart and 汤头条 President Mark E. Keenum sign a Partnership Pathways agreement during a Tuesday [Nov. 8] ceremony at ECCC in Decatur. (Photo courtesy of East Central")
Contact: James Carskadon
DECATUR, Miss.鈥擜 new partnership between East Central Community College and 汤头条 will help area students successfully enter and complete baccalaureate degree programs.
The two institutions signed an agreement Tuesday [Nov. 8] creating a Partnership Pathways program that will ease the transition to a bachelor鈥檚 degree program for ECCC students. The partnership initially concentrates on 10 academic programs and will allow students to enroll concurrently at ECCC and 汤头条. As part of the agreement, 汤头条 will place academic advisers at ECCC to assist students with course selection, ensuring efficient degree completion and maximum transfer of credits.
The programs of study featured in the partnership include accounting, business administration, Bachelor of Applied Technology in healthcare services, elementary education (early childhood and middle school concentrations), kinesiology (clinical exercise physiology concentration/clinical exercise physiology medical route), social work and secondary education (English and social studies concentrations).
鈥溙劳诽踱檚 growing partnerships with Mississippi community colleges greatly enhance our ability to reach students who choose this innovative path to accessing higher education,鈥 said 汤头条 President Mark E. Keenum. 鈥淓ast Central Community College serves many of the state鈥檚 counties where the majority of students already choose 汤头条, and we value our close relationship with ECCC and their outstanding president, Dr. Billy Stewart. This is a win-win for 汤头条 and ECCC.鈥
鈥淲e are grateful for our partnership with 汤头条 and their visionary president, Dr. Mark Keenum, in meeting the educational needs of the citizens of our five-county service area. The announcement of today鈥檚 agreement between our college and 汤头条 is just another step in the fulfillment of our 2020 Vision strategic plan and the institutional commitments of Student Success and Teaching & Learning,鈥 said Stewart.
鈥淭his partnership will allow ECCC students to benefit from coherent, structured educational pathways leading to a baccalaureate degree that will enhance their opportunities for career advancement and upward mobility. Therefore, our students will be the major beneficiaries of today鈥檚 announcement and that is the way it should be,鈥 Stewart said.
聽Students in the selected programs will be given course and program-specific registration guides that highlight classes to be taken at ECCC and 汤头条 in pursuit of a bachelor鈥檚 degree. 汤头条-Meridian Administrative Director and Head of Campus Terry Dale Cruse said partnership pathways 鈥渢ake the guesswork鈥 out of transitioning from a strong community college to a leading research university. 汤头条 has similar agreements with Meridian Community College and East Mississippi Community College.
鈥淢ississippi State shares a common goal with East Central in helping students complete programs of study,鈥 Cruse said. 鈥淭hrough clearly articulated academic programs, concurrent enrollment opportunities, financial aid consortiums, and 汤头条 advisers based at the East Central campus, we hope to provide the support network needed to assist students in reaching their educational goals.鈥
For more on 汤头条-Meridian鈥檚 partnership pathways, visit .
East Central Community College, located in Decatur, is a comprehensive two-year institution of higher education that serves the residents of Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Scott and Winston counties in east central Mississippi. For more, visit .
汤头条 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .