Students at two Moorhead campuses will now have easier access to a broader range of classes.
Presidents of Minnesota State University Moorhead and Minnesota State Community and Technical College signed a new course exchange agreement Friday.
It will give students convenient access to more classes without paying additional fees or dealing with extra paperwork.
"Students will have the opportunity to freely cruise between the two institutions," said MSCTC President Ann Valentine.
The partnership will be similar to the Tri-College University course exchange, which allows students to take a class from another school and pay tuition at the school where they're enrolled.
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MSUM President Roland Barden said the arrangement gives students more flexibility to fit courses into their busy schedules.
"They (MSCTC) are offering coursework at times when we are not and vice versa," Barden said.
That will help students complete their degrees sooner, he said.
Students on both campuses will benefit from having access to a wider variety of classes, officials said.
For example, a student working on a two-year degree may also want to take language courses from MSUM, Valentine said.
Or a construction management major at MSUM may want to take some carpentry classes from MSCTC, Barden said.
Other MSUM students may benefit from developmental courses offered at MSCTC, he said.
Trish Schrom, academic dean at MSCTC-Moorhead, said the agreement will make it a lot easier for students because they'll be able to register, get financial aid and pay tuition at one institution.
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"It's pretty seamless for them," Schrom said.
MSUM and MSCTC already have several partnerships.
The Gateway Program allows students who don't meet MSUM admission requirements to enroll through MSCTC and transition to MSUM.
MSCTC offers developmental math classes on the MSUM campus. Currently 48 MSUM students are in that program.
The two schools also lease the Minnesota State Higher Education Center, which holds several classrooms.
MSUM housing, health services and the wellness center also are available to MSCTC students.
The agreement signed Friday will allow the two schools to work together even more in the future, Barden said.
"We don't see this as the end, we see this as another great milestone," he said.
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Readers can reach Forum reporter Amy Dalrymple at (701) 241-5590 MSUM, MSCTC sign new course exchange accord Amy Dalrymple 20080119
