Utah State and Salt Lake Community College Form Strategic Partnership

Utah State University President Stan Albrecht and Salt Lake Community College President Cynthia A. Bioteau signed an agreement Thursday, March 28, establishing a strategic partnership between the two institutions of higher learning.

The agreement provides coursework to SLCC students enabling them to seamlessly transfer to USU and complete USU’s bachelor’s degree requirements. The coursework is delivered via USU’s Regional Campus and Distance Education interactive video conferencing system directly to the SLCC campus.

“One of our highest priorities as Utah’s land-grant institution is to expand access to high-quality educational opportunities for people in the state,” Albrecht said. “Through this new partnership, we are joining forces with another great Utah educational institution to make a college degree even more obtainable for students.”

Albrecht said USU’s land-grant mission melds perfectly with SLCC’s mission, and this new partnership gives students one more option as they pursue a degree.

Salt Lake Community College Provost Christopher Picard said SLCC is committed to its mission as a comprehensive community college.

“One crucial aspect of that mission is to provide education at the freshman and sophomore level for transfer to our sister four-year institutions, and it has been a distinct pleasure to work with USU,” said Picard. “We leveraged video streaming technology to provide access to upper division business education right on our Redwood campus — a win-win collaboration for two fine institutions.”

The new bachelor’s degree pathways provide an opportunity for degree completion for nontraditional students who have daytime commitments and need course delivery on an evening or online schedule. It is an open-entry program that allows SLCC students who meet USU admission and degree program entry and pre-requisite requirements to take courses concurrently with SLCC classes.

USU Senior Vice Provost Ronda Menlove said the partnership not only benefits SLCC students but also sustains USU’s commitment to provide educational opportunities statewide.

“This is a great opportunity for students to access USU’s bachelor’s degrees,” said Menlove. “Salt Lake Community College is a premier two-year college with great students and programs. We are excited about this strategic partnership and fulfilling USU’s mission as a land-grant university to provide access to higher education statewide.”

To start, USU’s business administration bachelor’s degree will be delivered at the SLCC Redwood campus.

Utah State University is Utah’s only land-grant institution and is committed to providing access to higher education to all residents of Utah as well as students across the nation and world. Utah State University Regional Campuses and Distance Education offers more than 70 degrees and programs at seven regional campuses as well as through online coursework.

Salt Lake Community College is an accredited, student-focused, urban college meeting the diverse needs of the Salt Lake community. Home to more than 62,000 students each year, the college is the largest supplier of workforce development programs in the state of Utah. The college is the sole provider of applied technology courses in the Salt Lake area, with 13 sites, an eCampus and nearly 1,000 continuing education sites located throughout the Salt Lake valley. Personal attention from an excellent faculty is paramount at the college, which maintains a student-to-teacher ratio of less than 20 to 1.

Writer: Paige Pagnucco, 435-797-1429, paige.pagnucco@usu.edu