ESU, NCC Announce Bachelor’s Degree Completion Program Partnerships in Nursing and Business in Lehigh Valley

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Posted by: admin on May 8, 2015, No Comments

East Stroudsburg University President Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D., and Northampton Community College President Mark H. Erickson, Ph.D., announced today a new partnership between the two institutions that will enable students to complete bachelor degree programs in two popular majors at NCC’s Bethlehem campus.

Starting next year Nursing and Business Administration students who have completed their associate degree at NCC will be able to earn bachelor’s degrees from ESU without leaving Northampton’s Bethlehem campus at 3835 Green Pond Road in Bethlehem, Pa. The nursing partnership will begin in the fall of 2015 and the business administration partnership in the spring, 2016.

According to Dr. Denise François-Seeney, dean of NCC’s College of Business and Technology, students who complete an associate degree in Business Administration at Northampton will be able to earn a bachelor’s degree from ESU with as little as one additional year of study if they enroll during summer and winter terms as well as during fall and spring semesters, or they may take summer and winter terms off and earn both degrees in four years. Students graduating from NCC’s RN program may enroll in ESUs bachelor of science (BS) degree completion program which offers flexible evening part-time and full-time options for working nurses. Dr. Carolyn Bortz, dean of NCC’s College of Allied Health Sciences, indicated this partnership will offer a seamless transition from NCC’s associate degree in nursing (ADN) program to ESU’s BS in nursing program immediately upon graduation.

“It’s a new day and age for higher education,” notes President Welsh. “We are actively seeking new and innovative ways to deliver an accessible and affordable academic opportunity to a steadily growing transfer student population. I’m proud of this initiative and hope we can continue to find ways to partner with NCC to put students first.”

NCC’s president, Dr. Mark Erickson, is also pleased with the new agreement. “Many of our students transfer to ESU,” he says. “Now it will be even easier for business administration and nursing students to complete their bachelor’s degrees, either through full-time study or while working. Northampton and ESU are united in our commitment to providing quality, affordable degrees to students in the Lehigh Valley as well as in Monroe County.”

The details of the program will be announced soon. Interested students should contact ESU’s Office of Extended Learning at extendedlearning@esu.edu or 610-419-2516.