LSU Chancellor Michael Martin and Baton Rouge Community College Chancellor Myrtle Dorsey signed the “Bears 2 Tigers” academic partnership Tuesday.
 
The program allows students to transfer seamlessly from BRCC to LSU to complete a bachelor’s degree.
 
Martin said there have been relatively few opportunities to celebrate recently, but this will be a good opportunity to ensure student success.
“This is a very natural partnership with BRCC — same geography, demography and educational challenges,” Martin said.
 
The two schools already had a partnership in engineering, but now the collaboration extends to BRCC students with business, science or humanities and social sciences association degrees.
 
“While today signifies a milestone, partnerships between BRCC and LSU are nothing new,” Dorsey said.
 
College of Engineering Dean Richard Koubek said at least 70        students have already expressed interest in the program.
 
Dorsey said 46 percent of undergraduates nationwide are from community colleges.
 
Dorsey said besides advising and other services at each college, the “Bears 2 Tigers” program will track students to provide opportunities to succeed.
 
Martin previously mentioned the idea of a joint housing deal to allow BRCC students to live in some of the upper levels of Kirby-Smith Hall after it is renovated.
 
“This is also a model widely used across the country so students can use ladders, not filters,” Martin said. “They can be a feeder for upper division credits and become a new kind of population we serve.”
 
Martin told The Daily Reveille on Sept. 7 that community college classes are not “watered-down” versions of the same courses at four-year schools. He said in some cases, community college professors have higher focuses on teaching and can better inform students than University professors, who are simultaneously researching and consulting.
 
LSU Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Stacia Haynie and BRCC Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Bradley Ebersole also signed the agreement.
 
 
 
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Contact Catherine Threlkeld at [email protected]