From this summer, students enrolling in Delaware County Community College will in a way, receive two acceptance letters.  This week the community college signed an agreement with Cheyney University guaranteeing admission to Cheyney for qualified students with an associate’s degree from DCCC, writes Sara Hoover for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

According to Jerry Parker, the President of DCCC, the two schools which are located 20 minutes apart, have had a transfer agreement in place for years, but not one this comprehensive. The college also has similar agreements with several other area universities, including West Chester, Temple, and Widener.

“The idea here was to enable Cheyney to be as competitive with all the other universities that are coming after our students. So this will do that,” stated Parker.

Cheyney’s enrollment has dropped significantly over the past several years, with applications for the fall down to 55 percent of those from this time last year. This partnership could help boost that, by attracting some of DCCC’s 27,000 students.

“Cheyney has a long proud tradition. We want it to thrive, not just survive as an institution,” Parker pointed out. “We’re just 15, 20 minutes down West Chester Pike. It would be a great opportunity for our students. We don’t have dorms and so forth. As a destination university, why not consider Cheyney?”

Cheyney’s interim president Frank Pogue said the arrangement encourages a more holistic recruitment approach, allowing the university to connect with students much earlier and get them thinking ahead to undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

“We can begin now reaching students in the 11th, if not the 10th grade, to assure them that when they enter Delaware County Community College that they are also being admitted to Cheyney University as an undergraduate under certain conditions,” Pogue said.

“The goal is to increase Cheyney’s enrollment, as well as prepare students earlier so that transferring is smooth” he said pointing out the agreement will reduce both the time and the cost to finish a degree.

To read more on this at the Philadelphia Business Journal see here and for previous VISTA Today coverage of the DCCC activities go here