Lincoln University finalized an enrollment “game-changer” with a new transfer agreement, University President John Moseley said Tuesday.
Moseley and State Fair Community College President Brent Bates signed a memorandum of understanding establishing the Connect Blue program. Starting in the fall, students can enroll at the community college from Lincoln’s campus and seamlessly transfer credits between the two institutions.
“This is a big day for us,” Moseley said before signing the agreement, adding he’s excited about the possibilities the new partnership presents. “This has been a dream of ours for some time as we continue the mission that this institution was founded for in providing an education for all.”
The partnership enables students pursuing associates of arts degrees at State Fair Community College to be simultaneously admitted to Lincoln and live on the university’s campus. They could join university organizations and must be enrolled in at least one three-credit-hour course at Lincoln, effectively allowing students to work toward degrees at both institutions at the same time.
“We’re really excited about it,” Bates said. “It’s a really big deal. It’s important for both State Fair Community College and our ability to serve Jefferson City in our service region, and a great partnership with Lincoln University and helping them accomplish some of their goals. So it’s a win-win all the way around.”
State Fair serves 14 counties in west central Missouri, including Cole, Miller, Moniteau and Morgan counties. The community college has campuses in Sedalia, Boonville, Clinton and Lake of the Ozarks.
Bates said the new partnership will boost enrollment at both institutions. Students could use A+ Scholarships to enroll at State Fair and then have a clear path to a four-year degree from Lincoln, he said.
“Typically, students that graduate from a community college are successful at the university level when they transfer, so it’ll be a good opportunity for them to get some really good students into their pipeline,” Bates said.
Moseley said he sees at least two major benefits for Lincoln: helping the university fill open seats in upper level courses and training under-prepared students who apply to the open enrollment institution.
Historically, more than 40 percent of Lincoln students have enrolled at the university with a grade point average of 2.5 or less.
The university is piloting a program, approved by the state, that requires those students with a 2.5 GPA to apply and be admitted before June 15. They are then required to complete a free four-credit-hour summer bridge program before starting their freshman year at Lincoln.
Moseley said students who don’t pass the summer bridge program or meet the criteria and apply after June 15 will be encouraged to attend State Fair through the Connect Blue program.
“For under-prepared students that may fall into this opportunity, we’re not saying ‘No,’ we’re saying, ‘Not yet. We encourage you to go and get the foundation that you need,'” Moseley said. “For Lincoln, it’s necessary as we work to move the retention rate and graduation rate. We expect … it will significantly impact those numbers over the next four, five, six years.”
Some of the degree programs at State Fair align well with those at Lincoln, Moseley said, such as nursing and agriculture. The university has open seats in its upper level degree courses that can easily be filled through transfer agreements, he added.
Darius Watson, executive director of academic initiatives at Lincoln, spearheaded development of the program on the university’s side. He said he’s heard from several high school guidance counselors in the region that they’ve been waiting for the formal agreement to start promoting it to students.
Lincoln will house a few State Fair guidance counselors and instructors on campus, allowing students to navigate their degree path with input from both institutions.
For students primarily enrolled at State Fair and living at Lincoln (and taking a course at LU), financial aid would flow through the community college first, Watson said. The students would then receive a refund and have to independently apply that to costs incurred at Lincoln.
Watson said Lincoln has capped the number of students allowed to stay on campus at 50 for the program’s first year because the university is renovating its largest residence hall, creating a potential housing crunch. The limit could be lifted after renovations, he said.
“The goal is to make sure that we’re offering the State Fair students every opportunity that we would also be offering to LU students, and I think that’s going to be something that they find really attractive,” Watson said.
Watson’s role lately has been focused on developing transfer agreements with community college systems throughout the country.
Lincoln already has agreements with College of Lake County in Illinois, City Colleges of Chicago and California Community Colleges, the nation’s largest higher education system with 116 colleges on the west coast. It’s working to develop similar agreements with Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, St. Louis Community College and State Technical College of Missouri.
Watson said the university’s goal is to develop transfer agreements in parts of the state and country where the university has historically recruited from.
“We believe by developing these community college partnerships that we will be able to offer significantly more options, not just from a general, ‘Hey, there’s options short of a four-year degree,’ but literally options in their space,” Watson said. “So you could stay in St. Louis and do a year, and then come (to Lincoln) when you’re more supported.”
The agreements allow Lincoln and its partners to leverage each other’s curriculum without institutions carrying the cost of creating new programs, he said.
Moseley said he’s expecting the partnership to open new pathways to education for students throughout the state and for generations to come.
“We see this as collaboration at its best on the state level in higher education,” he said.
Julie Smith/News Tribune photo: John Moseley, president of Lincoln University, left, exchanges an agreement with State Fair Community College President Brent Bates Tuesday, April 18, 2023, as the the two sign an agreement wherein the two will join forces to ensure that more Lincoln U students graduate and that students from SFCC can transfer credits to Lincoln toward a four-year degree.