ONE Northwood University

April 4, 2008

Community College Partnerships

Like every quality organization, Northwood University (NU) works to maximize current and future opportunities. We are finding a key opportunity lies with an endeavor where we were on the forefront over 25 years ago–community college partnerships. We were partnering with community colleges long before other universities realized the benefits of these relationships.

3+1 programs began with Delta College in Michigan. Students take their first two years at the community college, stay on that campus for their junior year with classes approved by NU and taught by community college faculty. Tuition remains at the community college rate for the first three years. The students come to our campuses or University College (UC) facility for their senior year.

It's a win-win situation. Students benefit from the community college atmosphere and tuition rate, often living at home to save money, and then a little later, with money saved and credits earned, they finish their degree with us. We like these students. They come to us well prepared, a little older, and with less behavioral/maturity issues of freshmen so they set a high bar in the classroom.

Our faculty affirms the community colleges do an outstanding job preparing their students for the rigors of Northwood academics. The students are goal oriented and on a mission to complete their degree. Over the years we have enjoyed having thousands of community college graduates on our campuses. The move to semesters in 2010 will only increase these numbers.

University College also finds community colleges to be ideal partners. Often students coming to UC from community colleges are a little older with children and jobs to contend with. The UC class delivery model works perfectly for them. UC Dean Rhonda Anderson notes another advantage, "If a student required remedial work, the community college has already taken care of this need."

We actually have UC locations right on several community college campuses. The relationships we’ve established with these colleges are very strong. The colleges get to know us. They have implicit trust when they hand over their students to Northwood University–they are placing them in good hands. Some faculty are shared between the community colleges and Northwood so the students, even before they are enrolled with us, are receiving The Northwood Idea and philosophy. When the students choose to finish their BBA at NU, they know full well the quality they can expect.

As we seek to expand the quantity and quality of the incoming Northwood students, community colleges will play a key role. As the national economy applies pressure on more and more families, parents and their college-age students will be looking to community colleges to help defray the costs of a bachelor's degree. To that end, we have completed an exciting endeavor in conjunction with over 35 colleges and universities and all of the community colleges in Michigan. Partnering with Michigan Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers, we now have the capability for students from all 28 Michigan community colleges to check online to see how classes they have taken will transfer to NU on a course-by-course basis.

The results of an initiative by Michigan Lt. Governor John Cherry, the Michigan Transfer Network allows students, advisors, and the general public to view transfer course equivalencies among over 35 Michigan colleges and universities. Students who would like to go back to school or transfer to another institution in Michigan now have a site where they can see how their courses will transfer.

This is especially of interest to students who want to transfer into our specialty degrees such as Hotel, Restaurant & Resort Management; Entertainment, Sport & Promotion Management; Automotive Marketing; and Fashion Marketing & Management, in addition to our traditional business majors. By entering our website http://www.northwood.edu/mi/admissions/transferstudents and without having to log in, they can see which of their community college classes will be applied to their choice of majors and which will apply as electives. As more students begin their undergraduate degrees at community colleges, the transfer network provides an efficient service allowing them to quickly see which four-year university program best matches their transcript.

Much work was involved in developing this course equivalency module. I want to thank Kayte Aspray, Tina Brisbois, Candice Courtemanche, Katherine Durkee, John Grether, Marla King, Lance Lewis, David Long, Wynn McDonald, Jacob Sinacola, Daniel Toland, and Marisa Toschkoff for their months of hard work to make this initiative happen. Similar efforts are underway in Florida and Texas to grow our transfer student opportunities.

Northwood University is a global entity because our founders, Drs. Stauffer and Turner, and our leadership saw and realized opportunities. Our partnerships with community colleges will play a significant role in our growth and future.

Keith A. Pretty, J.D.
President and CEO
Northwood University
4000 Whiting Drive
Midland, MI 48640
989.837.4203 (phone)
989.832.9590 (fax)

April 4, 2008
	Community College Partnerships Like every quality organization, Northwood University (NU) works to maximize current and future opportunities. We are finding a key opportunity lies with an endeavor where we were on the forefront over 25 years ago–community college partnerships. We were partnering with community colleges long before other universities realized the benefits of these relationships. 3+1 programs began with Delta College in Michigan. Students take their first two years at the community college, stay on that campus for their junior year with classes approved by NU and taught by community college faculty. Tuition remains at the community college rate for the first three years. The students come to our campuses or University College (UC) facility for their senior year. It's a win-win situation. Students benefit from the community college atmosphere and tuition rate, often living at home to save money, and then a little later, with money saved and credits earned, they finish their degree with us. We like these students. They come to us well prepared, a little older, and with less behavioral/maturity issues of freshmen so they set a high bar in the classroom. Our faculty affirms the community colleges do an outstanding job preparing their students for the rigors of Northwood academics. The students are goal oriented and on a mission to complete their degree. Over the years we have enjoyed having thousands of community college graduates on our campuses. The move to semesters in 2010 will only increase these numbers. University College also finds community colleges to be ideal partners. Often students coming to UC from community colleges are a little older with children and jobs to contend with. The UC class delivery model works perfectly for them. UC Dean Rhonda Anderson notes another advantage, "If a student required remedial work, the community college has already taken care of this need." We actually have UC locations right on several community college campuses. The relationships we’ve established with these colleges are very strong. The colleges get to know us. They have implicit trust when they hand over their students to Northwood University–they are placing them in good hands. Some faculty are shared between the community colleges and Northwood so the students, even before they are enrolled with us, are receiving The Northwood Idea and philosophy. When the students choose to finish their BBA at NU, they know full well the quality they can expect. As we seek to expand the quantity and quality of the incoming Northwood students, community colleges will play a key role. As the national economy applies pressure on more and more families, parents and their college-age students will be looking to community colleges to help defray the costs of a bachelor's degree. To that end, we have completed an exciting endeavor in conjunction with over 35 colleges and universities and all of the community colleges in Michigan. Partnering with Michigan Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers, we now have the capability for students from all 28 Michigan community colleges to check online to see how classes they have taken will transfer to NU on a course-by-course basis. The results of an initiative by Michigan Lt. Governor John Cherry, the Michigan Transfer Network allows students, advisors, and the general public to view transfer course equivalencies among over 35 Michigan colleges and universities. Students who would like to go back to school or transfer to another institution in Michigan now have a site where they can see how their courses will transfer. This is especially of interest to students who want to transfer into our specialty degrees such as Hotel, Restaurant & Resort Management; Entertainment, Sport & Promotion Management; Automotive Marketing; and Fashion Marketing & Management, in addition to our traditional business majors. By entering our website http://www.northwood.edu/mi/admissions/transferstudents and without having to log in, they can see which of their community college classes will be applied to their choice of majors and which will apply as electives. As more students begin their undergraduate degrees at community colleges, the transfer network provides an efficient service allowing them to quickly see which four-year university program best matches their transcript. Much work was involved in developing this course equivalency module. I want to thank Kayte Aspray, Tina Brisbois, Candice Courtemanche, Katherine Durkee, John Grether, Marla King, Lance Lewis, David Long, Wynn McDonald, Jacob Sinacola, Daniel Toland, and Marisa Toschkoff for their months of hard work to make this initiative happen. Similar efforts are underway in Florida and Texas to grow our transfer student opportunities. Northwood University is a global entity because our founders, Drs. Stauffer and Turner, and our leadership saw and realized opportunities. Our partnerships with community colleges will play a significant role in our growth and future. Keith A. Pretty, J.D. President and CEO Northwood University 4000 Whiting Drive Midland, MI 48640 989.837.4203 (phone) 989.832.9590 (fax)