Bergen Community College and William Paterson University Sign Transfer Articulation Agreement for Students Pursuing a Career in Teaching and Education-Related Professions

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Photo Caption: (Left to Right) Bergen Community College President Dr. G. Jeremiah Ryan and William Paterson University President Dr. Arnold Speert

Bergen Community College and William Paterson University officials have signed a credit transfer articulation agreement that will allow Bergen students who graduate with an associate’s degree to enter William Paterson University’s College of Education with junior status.

The principal beneficiaries of this agreement are students seeking certification in early childhood and elementary education. In order to utilize the transfer agreement, Bergen students must graduate with an associate of science degree in professional studies and meet the minimum grade point average and other requirements set forth by William Paterson University’s College of Education to receive acceptance into the program.

Bergen Professor Jean Goldstein and William Paterson Associate Dean Dorothy Feola guided negotiations for the transfer articulation agreement, which Bergen President Dr. G. Jeremiah Ryan and William Paterson University President Dr. Arnold Speert signed earlier this month.

“I am particularly excited about Bergen’s transfer agreement with William Paterson because it provides our students with an opportunity to further their education and receive advanced preparation for teaching and education-related professions,” said Dr. Ryan. “William Paterson University is one of the leading transfer institutions for the College’s students. Bergen appreciates William Paterson’s support, especially that of President Speert, who has always been a friend of community colleges.”

“We are very pleased to further our ongoing relationship with Bergen Community College, and to offer its graduates the opportunity to enroll in our College of Education and facilitate the seamless transfer of their students into our undergraduate programs in education,” said Dr. Speert. “This agreement provides great potential for the future success of the students at both institutions.”

Under the terms of the transfer articulation agreement, Bergen students must take a series of courses required for entry to William Paterson University. Bergen students must submit to William Paterson the Application for Degree prior to their final semester at Bergen. They must also submit an Application for Admission to William Paterson declaring an academic major and an education major. Bergen students should indicate they are applying for this program under the terms of the transfer articulation agreement and they will not have to pay the William Paterson application fee.

A How-To Guide providing specific course recommendations and procedures for Bergen students’ admission into the program will be available to Bergen students at the College and on the College’s Web site in Fall 2010.

Bergen currently has nearly 140 transfer agreements with more than 30 four-year colleges and universities and offers more than 40 Associate in Arts and Associate in Science programs that allow students to transfer seamlessly to schools throughout the region.

William Paterson University (www.wpunj.edu), one of the nine state colleges and universities in New Jersey, offers numerous undergraduate and graduate degree programs through five colleges: Arts and Communication, the Cotsakos College of Business, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Science and Health. Located on 370 hilltop acres in Wayne, the University enrolls approximately 11,000 students and provides housing for more than 2,600 students. The institution’s 371 full-time faculty are highly distinguished and diverse scholars and teachers, many of whom are recipients of prestigious awards and grants from the Fulbright Program, the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the American Philosophical Society.

Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu) based in Paramus is a public two-year coeducational college, enrolling nearly 17,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip J. Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields.


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