Averett University, the Dan River Region’s only four-year university, is reaching out to community colleges.
On Tuesday, Averett formed a partnership with Patrick Henry Community College in Martinsville with the Passport Transfer Program.
This program is designed for students who do not get into Averett the opportunity to attend PHCC. If a student completes 12 hours of prerequisites with a 2.0 grade point average at PHCC they are guaranteed admission to Averett.
While at community college, students get a special Averett identification card and can participate in almost all activities on campus — even intramural sports.
“Hopefully, by the time they are able to transfer, they are already familiar with campus,” said Stephanie Mullins, the associate director of admissions at Averett.
Mullins also said the program is not designed to increase enrollment, but to create a partnership with another local community college. PHCC is the second largest feeder for Averett transfer students behind Danville Community College. Many of the transfer students in the area are non-traditional students who have little desire to travel very far for a bachelor’s degree.
Averett president Tiffany Franks has said she wants Averett to be the go-to college for Southside residents wanting a four-year or graduate degree. The partnership with PHCC is in addition to a similar program with DCC.
“Partnerships like this are about long-term improvements in the educational opportunities and changed lives of our area’s youth,” said Franks in a news release.
With the higher education being a crucial factor of economic development in the area, Averett is garnering programs that are making it easier for students to transfer and — in the process — becoming an aid in increasing the number of local residents with college degrees.
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