NCC Signs Higher Ed Partnership Agreement

Northampton Community College (NCC) President, David A. Ruth, Ph.D., joined other regional representatives of Pennsylvania community colleges and universities from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) for a news conference on April 17. The college representatives signed a pledge demonstrating a commitment to work together to better serve students and their communities.

The event was held at Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC) and hosted by Dr. Ann D. Bieber, president of LCCC. Dr. Ruth was joined by other local school leaders like Dr. Kenneth Hawkinson, president of Kutztown University, and Kenneth Long, president of East Stroudsburg University. The presidents of all 10 state system four-year colleges and 15 community colleges in Pennsylvania have signed the pledge.

The pledge was drafted to honor the commitment to provide high quality affordable academic and career education programs and to contribute to the development of a highly skilled competitive workforce in the Commonwealth. Leadership of statewide community colleges and PASSHE universities have worked collaboratively to help students achieve their educational goals. Some of the specifics within the pledge include:

• Ensuring students are aware of all their higher education opportunities
• Smoothing the path for students to transfer from a community college to a PASSHE institution
• Establishing a reverse transfer agreement allowing students to transfer credits from a university back to a community college
• Allocating financial aid at universities for community college graduates
• Working to ensure the success of community college graduates who transfer to PASSHE universities

“We believe that strong partnerships between Pennsylvania community colleges and universities from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education present our students with the best opportunities to succeed academically and thrive personally,” said Ruth. “The pledge that is being signed is an important step in moving those partnerships forward.”