Making It Easier for Students to Transfer Into a Four-Year Degree
On October 2, 2019, Bemidji State University signed an agreement with Pine Technical and Community College to make it easier for students in manufacturing programs to transfer credits in order to earn a four-year degree in BSU’s School of Technology, Art & Design. Students can enroll in programs including Applied Engineering, Applied Management, Engineering Technology, Project Management, Operations Management, Construction and Facility Management, and Product Development.
A similar agreement is currently in the works between Bemidji State University and Lake Superior College, which is set to launch in the fall of 2020. The goal of these agreements is to create a pathway from a new program that they would develop to bring more manufacturing students into Pine Technical and Community College and Lake Superior College for the first two years. Students from the program would then attend BSU to complete their baccalaureate degree. This agreement will also lay the foundation to build closer partnerships between BSU and partner colleges. Dan Voss, Transfer Partnership Coordinator for Bemidji State University states, “One of our goals at BSU is to build stronger relationships with two-year schools and this is a great way for us to do this.”
When the idea of a transfer agreement developed about two years ago, members of the Minnesota State Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence reached out to Pine Tech and Lake Superior College to see if they would be interested in participating. Both schools agreed and work began on working on the transfer agreement. Faculty from Pine Tech came to BSU to tour the labs and facilities, and BSU toured theirs as well. This helped to create equivalencies between the two schools and determine which courses would be best for the students involved. Pine Tech has developed a new program called Applied Engineering Technology, which teaches the courses within the first two years of BSU’s Engineering Technology program. Students in the Applied Engineering Technology program at Pine Tech can then transfer to BSU without worrying if their credits will transfer with them.
Bemidji State University and the Minnesota State Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence hopes to bring more schools on board in the future. The faculty and students of BSU, Pine Tech, and Lake Superior College are all looking forward to the future ahead. It is important to those involved with the development of these transfer agreements that the students of Pine Tech and Lake Superior College feel just as much a BSU student as they are a student at their current school.