UConn Waterbury Campus UConn partnership offers a new way to earn a UConn business degree

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NVCC, UConn partnership offers a new way to earn a UConn business degree — without leaving Waterbury

WATERBURY (Feb. 8, 2006) — Students interested in earning a bachelor's degree in business from the top-ranked public university in New England — without leaving Waterbury — now have a new option.

On Wednesday, Feb. 8, Naugatuck Valley Community College signed an agreement with the University of Connecticut that will allow NVCC graduates with an associate degree in business management to transfer to UConn Waterbury as first-semester juniors within UConn's business & technology major. To be guaranteed admission, NVCC students must graduate with a 3.0 grade point average, but any students who have followed the program and received their associate degree may apply for admission.

Without this kind of formal “articulation” agreement between colleges, students who want to transfer from one college to another often are not successful in getting some transfer credits recognized by the accepting institution.

“An associate degree includes 60 credits and a bachelor's includes 120,” said Mitchell Holmes, director of NVCC's business division. “Oftentimes, it's up to the students to negotiate how an accepting four-year institution will accept those 60 credits.

“Without articulation agreements, many students will leave here with 60 credits, but maybe have only 45 accepted,” Holmes said. “This agreement guarantees that when they leave here with 60 credits, they enter UConn to take number 61.”

The Business & Technology Transfer Pathway Program signed Wednesday is the third articulation agreement for bachelor's degrees between NVCC and UConn, with others in general studies and horticulture. The partnerships are part of a larger effort among Connecticut's public institutions of higher education to ensure smoother paths for the students who wish to transfer between them.

NVCC's business division accounts for five of its 10 most popular majors. The division's business management degree program is designed to prepare students for entry-level employment in the corporate world. It has seen double-digit growth in the past three years, making it the third most popular major on campus behind general studies and liberal arts. The program has one other articulation agreement for a bachelor's degree, with Western Connecticut State University in Danbury for a bachelor's in management.

UConn's School of Business has been ranked the No. 1 public business school in New England by Business Week, Forbes and U.S. News & World Report. Like NVCC's associate degree in business management, UConn's bachelor's of science degree in business with a major in business & technology is designed to give students a general grounding in business administration, but it also has a special emphasis in the application of information technology (IT). While not intended to train IT professionals, the major also provides the conceptual IT knowledge necessary for students to excel in today's workplace.

The business & technology major is open only to students at UConn's Tri-Campus — a partnership that includes its three regional campuses in Waterbury, Torrington, and Greater Hartford — and its Stamford campus. As such, NVCC business management graduates who successfully transfer to UConn may take courses at any of the four UConn regional campuses, although Torrington does not offer all the courses necessary to complete the degree.

Regardless of where the bachelor's degree is completed, and whether a student enters the workplace or goes on to get an MBA, the degree will be the same as if the student had spent four years at UConn's main campus in Storrs.

NVCC President Richard L. Sanders said the agreement between NVCC and UConn stands as a testament to the quality of NVCC's business management program.

“Whether you want to stop at an associate degree, or move on to a bachelor's degree at UConn, our business management program will give you the tools you need to rise to the top of your chosen field,” Sanders said.

Faculty from both institutions will work in tandem to advise students through the new partnership, said Edna McBreen, associate vice provost for UConn's Tri-Campus.

“The development of this agreement has brought faculty from Naugatuck Valley Community College and UConn together to plan programs, and those new relationships will ensure that students will have all the information they need early in their community college career to move right into their junior year at UConn,” McBreen said.

Wednesday's signing ceremony was attended by NVCC students, staff and faculty from NVCC and UConn, as well as Waterbury Mayor Michael J. Jarjura.

“This agreement will help us keep talented students in Greater Waterbury, students who are likely to go on to be important contributors to both the business community and to the community at large,” Jarjura said.

NVCC, which is located on Chase Parkway in Waterbury off exit 18 on Interstate 84, offers more than 100 associate degrees and credit certificates, as well as hundreds of non-credit programs. It has more than 5,600 credit students and 1,900 non-credit students, and serves 35 communities across western and central Connecticut, from Litchfield to Seymour and from Southington to Danbury.

The University of Connecticut not only has a main campus in Storrs, but also five regional campuses throughout the state, as well as separate Schools of Law and Social Work in Hartford, and Schools of Medicine and Dentistry at the UConn Health Center in Farmington. Its School of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide.

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Cutline for attached photo “NVCCUConnBusiness” : NVCC Associate Professor Donna Marotti-Delieto teaches a course that's part of NVCC's business management program. NVCC will sign an agreement Feb. 8 that guarantees graduates of that program, with a 3.0 GPA or higher, admission to UConn Waterbury as first-semester juniors in UConn's business & technology major.

Cutline for attached photo "NVCCUConnSigning": NVCC President Richard L. Sanders (left) and Jeff Rummel, associate dean with the UConn School of Business, sign an agreement Feb. 8 that guarantees graduates of that program, with a 3.0 GPA or higher, admission to UConn Waterbury as first-semester juniors in UConn's business & technology major.

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