New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Gateway, UNH expand their partnership
NEW HAVEN — Mario Gaboury, interim provost of the University of New Haven, has stories of students who made a seamless transition from Gateway Community College to a four-year degree at the university.
There’s the student who earned her associate degree in environmental science and toxicology at the Church Street community college before enrolling at the West Haven-based UNH last spring for a dual-degree program to expedite a master’s degree in environmental engineering with a goal to prevent climate catastrophe.
And there’s the student who, seeking a second career after years working in law enforcement, earned a bachelor’s degree in paramedicine from UNH after receiving his two-year degree from Gateway and now serves in a director role for a statewide paramedic organization.
There also is the adjunct professor in UNH’s department of dental hygiene, who first completed the pre-dental hygiene program at Gateway before receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UNH.
“It’s been gratifying to see the success,” Gaboury said.
Officials with both schools this week signed an agreement to reinforce the pipeline between them, eliminating barriers for enrollment between the two.
“We are in the business of dreams and hopes and aspirations,” Gateway CEO William “Terry” Brown said before signing the agreement.
The agreement stipulates that Gateway graduates with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher can conduct a “seamless” transfer of 90 credits to UNH, provided they meet certain degree requirements.
Those students also are eligible for up to $24,000 in merit-based transfer scholarships per year.
Although most students seeking a bachelor’s degree would follow a path from the two-year institution to a four-year institution, the agreement also creates a “respite” program that allows for UNH students to enroll at Gateway for one semester with a lighter academic load and lower tuition.
Brown said that offer would extend to a student admitted to UNH out of high school who wants to ease into studying for a four-year degree, or a student who wants to slow down to receive more academic support.
“We are the community’s college,” he said.
Prior to the agreement, the institutions had an agreement that Gateway students could enroll in one course at UNH per year free of charge.
Gateway students also are granted full access to the UNH library and the university’s programming, including sporting events, with a student ID card.