Clark State Community College and the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services on behalf of the School of Information Technologies have entered into a second bachelor’s degree completion agreement.
The agreement will put students on pace to earn a Bachelor of Science in Information Technologies CyberSecurity track from UC following their completion of an Associate of Applied Science in CyberSecurity/Information Assurance Technology from Clark State.
“Clark State is excited to offer this opportunity to our students,” Aimee Belanger-Haas, dean of Business and Applied Technologies at Clark State. “This will allow them to continue their education with University of Cincinnati while physically remaining at Clark State and being able to utilize the services at our campus.”
The new agreement with UC is a 3+1 agreement, meaning students can complete their first three years of the program at Clark State tuition prices. UC also has the four-year equivalent of the cybersecurity designation as the National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education.
Articulation agreements between colleges help to ensure students do not duplicate courses at each institution and are able to more efficiently achieve their goals.
“Addressing the cybersecurity workforce needs of our state and nation will take a village,” said Said Hazem, professor and director of the School of Information Technology at UC. “Together, UC and Clark State are partnering to provide unique educational experience for students. With this partnership, students can complete their Clark State associate degree and their UC BSIT-Cybersecurity degree without leaving Clark State.”
Students benefit from the stability of working within the same environment and from the overall lower cost of the degree. In addition, students will benefit from UC’s renowned co-op program and are eligible for the accelerated master’s program. “At the UC School of Information Technology, we have partnered with Clark State to bring funds from the National Security Agency to support educational programs, and we look forward to seeing the impact of this new partnership.”
Articulation agreements are designed to build strong partnerships between community colleges like Clark State and four-year institutions of higher learning like UC. This guarantees a simplified transfer process for students interested in the program as it outlines all the specific courses they must take to receive their bachelor's degree. UC will offer the required bachelor’s degree courses in an online format.
“These articulation agreements represent true collaboration between universities and colleges as well as the recognition that a bachelor’s degree must be as affordable and seamless as possible for community college students,” said Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, president of Clark State.