Kent State University and Eastern Gateway Community College (EGCC) have formed a strategic partnership that will create new access to courses and degrees for thousands of students living and learning on Ohio’s eastern border.
Leaders from both institutions met Oct. 10 at Eastern Gateway’s Steubenville Campus to sign the agreement and celebrate the new collaboration, which will increase educational opportunities and access for students throughout the four counties Eastern Gateway serves.
“I am excited about the partnership with Kent State University that will enhance opportunities for all students at our Steubenville Campus and will increase articulated pathways from EGCC to Kent State,” says Eastern Gateway President Jimmie Bruce, Ed.D.
Leaders from Eastern Gateway and Kent State’s two Columbiana County campuses – Salem and East Liverpool – met a year ago to begin evaluating how the two institutions could best work together. They discovered the two schools share many program pathways that could be linked to form a progression from an associate to bachelor’s degree for students studying at Eastern Gateway.
Eastern Gateway serves students in Columbiana, Jefferson, Mahoning and Trumbull counties with campuses in Youngstown and in Steubenville, not far from the Kent State’s East Liverpool Campus.
“At Kent State, we believe that when Ohio’s public higher education system works together, the students, families and communities we serve win,” says Kent State President Beverly J. Warren. “Look no further than our innovative new partnership with Eastern Gateway, which brings together our unique capabilities to open new doors for more students who aspire to earn a four-year degree but may otherwise miss the opportunity.”
The first two conjoined educational pathways will link Eastern Gateway’s Associate of Arts degree to Kent State’s Bachelor of Science in Information Technology degree, and Eastern Gateway’s Associate of Arts degree into Kent State’s Bachelor of Technical and Applied Studies degree. Students also will be able to complete the Technical and Applied Studies degree with a concentration on Insurance Studies. Additional pathways will be determined in the future based on student interest in various study areas.
In addition to course offerings, Kent State will house a physical advising center at Eastern Gateway’s Steubenville Campus, which will serve to educate students on Kent State programs and provide guidance for students looking to transfer after completing their associate degree programs at Eastern Gateway.
The new partnership will eliminate guesswork for students who are interested in transferring from Eastern Gateway to Kent State to complete their four-year degrees. They will have a pathway map of courses leading their studies from Eastern Gateway to Kent State and to achieving a bachelor’s degree.
The degree pathways and new advising will begin in 2019.