RSU President Larry Rice and TCC President Leigh B. Goodson sign articulation agreement today
Tulsa Community College and Rogers State University joined together today to make it easier for students to earn their associate degree at one institution and then seamlessly transfer to complete their bachelor’s degree at the other.
The framework for the articulation agreements between the two institutions was signed Sept. 3 by TCC President & CEO Leigh B. Goodson and RSU President Larry Rice during a ceremony held at the Thomas K. McKeon Center for Creativity at the TCC Metro Campus.
“TCC’s mission is to provide innovative, flexible and affordable public higher education and this new partnership with RSU allows us to extend our mission throughout a student’s entire college experience,” said TCC President & CEO Leigh B. Goodson, Ph. D. “In 2013, of all the TCC students who attended TCC and then transferred to an in-state four-year institution, 12 percent picked RSU to continue with their bachelor’s degree.”
Goodson also noted that TCC ranks 24th in the nation in the number of Associate Degrees it awards among nearly 1,100 community colleges.
As a result of the agreement, TCC students may now seamlessly transfer their associate degree to RSU and finish their education with an RSU bachelor’s degree. To start, the institutions have identified 10 associate to bachelor’s degree paths, including many unique to the Tulsa market. Academic officials at both institutions are examining other degree programs that can be included in the near future.
Degree fields included as part of this articulation agreement include accounting, biology, business administration, environmental science, health and human performance, history, nutritional science, political science, pre-professional sciences and sport management.
Rogers State University
“We are honored to partner with TCC to expand options for their students while allowing students to stay close to home while completing their education,” Rice said. “As the only public, residential four-year university in the Tulsa metro area, RSU provides a unique value proposition in the local market. We are a short drive from Tulsa, which allows students to complete their degrees either living on campus or by commuting from Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Owasso or other nearby communities.”
Rice also noted that RSU’s tuition also was recognized last year by U.S. News and World Report as one of the nation’s top 10 lowest, in-state tuition rates.
Plentiful scholarships and financial aid packages are available at Rogers State to help students pay for their schooling, including scholarships specific to TCC transfer students. As a result of these scholarships and financial aid, more than a third of RSU’s graduates in 2013 were able to earn their bachelor’s degrees without taking a student loan.