Tennessee State University and Southwest Tennessee Community Agree on Seamless Student Transfer

President Glenda Glover, left, and President Nathan Essex, of Southwest Tennessee Community College, sign the Student Transfer Partnership Agreement. Witnessing the ceremony are, standing from left, Dr. John Cade, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Support Services; Karen F. Nippert, Southwest VP for Institutional Advancement; Dr. Sharon Peters, Director of Community College Initiative; Dr. Mark Hardy, Vice President for Academic Affairs; Southwest student Reginald Deon Woods; Barbara Roseborough, Southwest Provost and Executive Vice President; and Dr. Alisa Mosley, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. (photo byJohn Cross, TSU Media Relations)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – With officials from the two institutions watching, Tennessee State University and Southwest Tennessee Community College Thursday signed an agreement that will allow students who complete two years at Southwest to transfer to TSU to complete their baccalaureate degree.

TSU President Glenda Glover and Southwest President Nathan Essex signed the Transfer Partnership Agreement during a ceremony on the Southwest campus in Memphis.

“This agreement is about two institutions taking steps to empower our students to be successful,” said Dr. Glover in an opening statement. “The agreement further strengthens our partnership, and gives Southwest students additional choices for aligning associate degrees with bachelor’s degrees through Tennessee State University.”

Referring to the agreement as “important and significant,” Southwest President Essex agreed with Dr. Glover’s assessment that it provides opportunities for students to be successful.

“We are here to ensure that our students are successful, and this partnership with Tennessee State University strengthens that effort,” Dr. Essex said, commending President Glover for her leadership. “She has done a phenomenal job in just two years, and her vision speaks well to the quality of her leadership.”

The agreement between the two institutions calls for the awarding of 10 two-year full TSU scholarships with preference to STEM majors, beginning fall 2015, The partnership also includes a dual-admission component that builds on the Tennessee Transfer Pathway, which is designed to help community college students plan for transferring to a Tennessee public university to complete their baccalaureate degree.

Two second-year Southwest pre-engineering students who attended the signing ceremony, see the agreement as timely and offers “much needed outlet” to complete their undergraduate degrees.

Reginald Deon Woods, a Computer Engineering major, and Christian Pavas, an Engineering Technology major, who plan to attend TSU at the completion of their associate degrees, said the University has the programs and offerings they need for their baccalaureate degrees.

“The opportunity to seamlessly transfer our credits and the scholarship opportunity the agreement offers are just great,” said Pavas. “I look forward to continuing my program at Tennessee State.”

Following the ceremony, President Glover spoke about the effort that went into bringing the agreement into fruition, giving special recognition to her senior administration including officials of the office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Enrollment Management, and the Dean of the College of Engineering.

“I want to thank all of you for your work in helping us to bring this agreement into reality,” Dr. Glover said. “I want to particularly thank Dr. Sharon Peters (Director of Community College Initiative), and Dr. (S. Keith) Hargrove, the dean of the College of Engineering for working so diligently with Southwest Community College to bring about this agreement.”

The agreement is part of TSU’s on-going effort to reach out to all 13 community colleges around the state to develop long-lasting partnerships and relationships. Currently, there are agreements with Volunteer State, Nashville State, Columbia State, Motlow State Community Colleges, and soon Southwest Tennessee Community College. There are hopes to sign agreements with four additional institutions within the next year.

Among other TSU officials at the signing ceremony were Dr. Mark Hardy, vice president for Academic Affairs; Dr. John Cade, interim vice president for Enrollment Management and Student Support Services; Dr. Alisa Mosley, associate vice president for Academic Affairs; and Kelli Sharp, assistant vice president for Public Relations and Communications.