A new partnership between South Piedmont Community College and Wingate University presents associates degree garduates of SPCC a chance to earn their bachelor’s at WU for $2,500 a year.
According to Luanne Williams, director of content development, this new opportunity is thanks to a growing partnership between the two educational institutions. The new Gateway Scholarship was announced recently by South Piedmont President Maria Pharr and Wingate University President Rhett Brown.
“There have always been some common agreements between community colleges and universities, but we wanted to look at things more creatively and strategically to better serve the students in our communities,” Pharr said.
Already, the state’s Community College System and North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities had an aggreement which meant SPCC students could take courses with the confidence that their credits would transfer to four-year granting institutions. The new partnership takes transferability a step further.
“We are breaking down barriers that exist to traditional transfer between public community colleges and private universities,” Pharr said. “We are making the transfer process more efficient for our students by exploring credit for prior learning, providing honors credit and seeking easier transfer processes.”
Brown added that the collaboration is a result of both schools’ commitment to Anson and Union counties and the South Piedmont region.
“When we care about our community and think about cradle-to-career and all of our educational needs, we thought we should get together and work on this and see where we could collaborate,” Brown said. “Whether it is cost or transferability or time-to-degree, we’re trying to tackle these issues together.”
He also said doing so will help the state close its educational attainment gap.
According to the nonprofit myFutureNC, by 2020, 67% of jobs across the state will require a postsecondary degree or high-quality credential, but only 49 percent of North Carolinians ages 25 to 44 have that level of education.
“As you can imagine, the gap is largest among those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds,” Brown said. “This summer, state lawmakers signed a bill setting the goal of having 2 million people with postsecondary degrees or certificates by 2030. Right now, that number is 1.3 million. We believe the Gateway Scholarship is part of the solution.”
Funding to help bring students’ out-of-pocket annual tuition costs at Wingate down to $2,500 or less includes federal aid, the North Carolina Need-Based Scholarship and support from generous donors.
To qualify for the Gateway Scholarship, students must have an associates degree from South Piedmont Community College and be entering Wingate for the fall semester 2019 or later. They must complete the FAFSA or an applicable financial responsibility form.
Anyone who already has a South Piedmont associate’s degree and wants to learn more about the Gateway Scholarship may visit the web at www.wingate.edu/admissions/spcc-gateway-scholarship, email V.Graham@wingate.edu, or call Valerie Graham at 704-233-8103. To learn more about South Piedmont, contact Jessica Young at 704-290-5261, email jyoung@spcc.edu or visit www.spcc.edu.