News Releases @ TCC

TCC LINKS WITH A TOP PUBLIC VA. UNIVERSITY
Longwood and TCC sign transfer agreement for guaranteed admission

TCC students have a new path to a bachelor’s degree, thanks to a guaranteed-admission transfer agreement signed Aug. 2 by TCC President Deborah DiCroce, right, and Longwood University President Patricia Cormier. “In essence, we are providing another important on-ramp to the American dream; a chance for the baccalaureate degree and the social and economic mobility that comes with that coveted honor,” said DiCroce. “We’ve been very pleased with our relationship with TCC and its students, and we look forward to seeing that increase,” said Cormier, who noted that LU ranks second only in the state to the University of Virginia for community college transfer-student success, with 84 percent persisting, compared to 62 percent of traditional students.

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. – (Aug. 3, 2005) – In concert with preparing a large influx of students for transfer to baccalaureate institutions, Tidewater Community College announces a new partnership with a top public university in Virginia.

TCC and Longwood University - ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the Top Public Universities-Master’s category in the South - signed a guaranteed admission agreement for transfer students on Aug. 2 at the college’s Visual Arts Center in Olde Towne Portsmouth.

“With transfer playing a critical role in the restructuring of higher education, TCC is pleased to partner with key institutions such as Longwood University,” says TCC President Deborah DiCroce. “The quality education offered by Longwood, especially in teacher preparation and through their business school, adds to valuable opportunities for our graduates.”

This transfer agreement joins similar partnerships TCC has made with Norfolk State University and Old Dominion University. It also follows the trend of four-year institutions working toward agreements with community colleges to help meet the growth in first-year students.

Longwood University - located in Farmville, 140 miles west of Norfolk, between Lynchburg and Richmond - enrolls 4,200 students. Founded in 1839, LU is a coeducational, comprehensive state institution with programs leading to bachelor’s and master’s degrees in a wide range of subjects.

Under the guaranteed admission agreement, which aims “to maximize opportunities and minimize obstacles for TCC graduates to complete a four-year degree at LU,” TCC graduates who earn the associate of arts and/or science degree with a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or higher will be guaranteed admission to LU. It also guarantees that those degree recipients will have junior status, that all of their credits will transfer, although not all may apply toward the degree, and that all of their lower-division general education goals will be met.