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WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY TO OFFER BACHELOR’S DEGREE PROGRAMS ON MERCER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE CAMPUS
--Mercer graduates can obtain bachelor’s degrees in early childhood education/elementary education, liberal studies and psychology without leaving the campus
--Open house to introduce the programs will be held on July 1, 2009 at 6 p.m. at MCCC’s Student Center
Mercer County Community College and William Paterson University in Wayne are joining together to offer several bachelor’s degrees for Mercer County Community College graduates—without leaving the Mercer County campus.
The programs will be offered by William Paterson University and will lead to William Paterson University bachelor’s degrees. Courses will be offered at MCCC during late afternoons, evenings, Fridays, on weekends, and online. Students who successfully complete associate of arts degrees in liberal arts or other majors will be able to obtain a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education/elementary education, as well as in several other major alternatives. Classes for the degree programs will begin in September 2009.
“We are very pleased to be able to provide community college graduates in Mercer County the opportunity to complete their bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, liberal studies and psychology,” says Edward Weil, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at William Paterson University. “William Paterson began more than 150 years ago as a school to prepare teachers for the classroom and has expanded on that tradition, now as a public comprehensive university, to offer excellent undergraduate and graduate degree programs in education, liberal arts and the professions. We plan to provide some of these programs at MCCC beginning next fall as an affordable opportunity to complete the bachelor’s degree and qualify for teacher certification.”
MCCC President Patricia C. Donohue says one of the college's goals has been to increase articulated programs and to provide bachelor's degree for local students. “Our students have been asking for the opportunity to complete bachelor's degrees in education without leaving the region,” she explains. “This partnership with William Paterson University is ideal for many.”
In order to attain a bachelor of arts in early childhood education and to be certified to teach in public schools in New Jersey, students must also complete a second major in a subject field. William Paterson University will offer courses in both the early childhood education major and in two second major subject fields—a bachelor of arts in liberal studies with concentrations in any two of the following: English, history, political science or psychology; and a bachelor of arts in psychology. In addition, early childhood education majors can also qualify for dual certification in elementary education with the completion of six additional credits. Student teaching placements will be in schools in the Mercer County area.
Mercer County Community College graduates who do not wish to complete an education major but want to complete a bachelor’s degree can still pursue the degrees in liberal studies or psychology.
All upper-level coursework leading to the degrees will be offered at Mercer County Community College through direct classroom or online instruction by William Paterson faculty. Students pursuing William Paterson University degrees will be full-fledged William Paterson students and will have access to the institution’s library and information technology resources, as well as other student benefits.
An open house for those interested in the new degree opportunities will be held on Wednesday, July 1, 2009 at 6 p.m. in the Student Center at Mercer County Community College. Faculty advisors and staff from both William Paterson University and Mercer County Community College will be on hand to answer questions about the programs. For additional information, contact Laurene Jones, director of transfer services at Mercer County Community College, at 609-570-3307.
William Paterson University, one of the nine state colleges and universities in New Jersey, offers 43 undergraduate and 22 graduate programs through five colleges: Arts and Communication, the Cotsakos College of Business, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Science and Health. Located on 370 hilltop acres in Wayne, the university enrolls more than 10,200 students and provides housing for nearly 2,700 students. The institution’s 379 full-time faculty are highly distinguished and diverse scholars and teachers, many of whom are recipients of prestigious awards and grants from the Fulbright Program, the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the American Philosophical Society.
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June 18 , 2009
www.wpunj.edu
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