When some Holland College students graduate this year, it won’t be the end of the educational road for them, thanks to new agreements between the college and UPEI.
With banners from both schools hanging behind them, UPEI president Wade MacLauchlan and Holland College president Brian McMillan signed the official agreements Tuesday allowing students from some college programs to transfer credits and enter the second or third year of arts programs at UPEI.
MacLauchlan said the two schools already had about 20 agreements in place and the addition of more programs means more students will be able to benefit from the partnership.
“It’s to go further with a track record that’s already very positive for everybody,” the UPEI president said.
McMillan said the partnership gives Holland College students the chance to earn their bachelor’s degree without an additional four years of university and it has worked well with previous programs.
“We’re hearing really positive things,” he said.
Through the new agreements, graduates from the Hotel and Restaurant Management, Tourism and Travel Management, Marketing and Advertising Management, Golf Club Management, Professional Golf Management, Accounting Technology, Business Administration, Retail Business Management, Human Services, and Child and Youth Care Worker diploma programs will be able to transfer credits to UPEI and graduate from both schools within a four-year period.
While MacLauchlan and McMillan are at the heads of both schools, they referred to UPEI dean of arts Richard Kurial and Holland College vice-president of innovation, enterprise and strategic development Michael O’Grady as the architects of the agreements for all the work they did in putting them together.
“It’s not a question of their inability. It’s a question of students having the opportunity.” - Richard Kurial
O’Grady said the college polled business students and found more than 60 per cent of them wanted to continue their post-secondary educations with a bachelor of arts degree.
“There was certainly interest on the part of our students,” he said.
Kurial said the new agreements built on the success of the ones already in place and unlike previous programs, such as the bachelor’s degree in print journalism, the new partnerships let college students continue on to get a degree in any discipline.
“This is probably much more open and broad-based.”
In the past, some professors have made what he called an educational class distinction based on the belief college students couldn’t handle university classes, but that has changed with some of the previous agreements, he said.
“It’s not a question of their inability. It’s a question of students having the opportunity.”
O’Grady said both schools will monitor the students’ progress, which could lead to changes in some Holland College programs.
“Our programs are in evolution anyway.”
rross@theguardian.pe.ca
