PHOTO | JOHNSON C. SMITH UNIVERSITY

Johnson C. Smith University and Central Piedmont Community College are collaborating on an admissions program that allow CPCC students to earn scholarships toward a four-year degree in psychology.

Johnson C. Smith University and Central Piedmont Community College are collaborating on a direct admission program.

The schools on Thursday introduced JCSU Connect, an initiative to expand a pathway to students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Participants will complete a two-year associate degree at CPCC and two more at JCSU to earn the bachelor. The first two years will consist of classes at CPCC while utilizing resources at JCSU and engaging in workshops.

Transfers will be placed into an on-campus paid internship through federal work study correlating with their field of study. The final year at JCSU will include experiential learning through internships and undergraduate research. CPCC will launch JCSU Connect in August, coinciding with the start of the fall semester. The first cohort of students to transition to JCSU will be in fall 2023.

“Students have always transferred, but it has never been intentional,” JCSU President Clarence Armbrister said. “This is an intentional opportunity for us to go out [and] identify students. One of the things that is interesting about this program is while at CPCC, students will interact here. They will start getting involved in their career services opportunities here at Johnson C. Smith. They are going to have to take a class here at Johnson C. Smith regarding internships, experiential learning and career advising to get them ready, because one of the things that Johnson C. Smith is going to be leaning into is career experiential learning.”

Said CPCC President Kandi Deitemeyer: “We have had really a partnership for a number of years, but it has not been intentional …we transfer about 1,200 students a year to many universities throughout the state.”

Students who are part of JCSU Connect also receive an $8,000 annual scholarship to attend JCSU. Students must remain eligible while at CPCC, submit an application to JCSU, enroll in a full-time course load, maintain a 3.0 grade point average and complete an eligible program of study at CPCC during the semester prior to their preferred entry at JCSU. Eligible students will also have the opportunity to receive additional financial aid.

“What we are doing here with this program is putting money where our mouth is,” Armbrister said. “We are not just accepting the students. We are going to provide them with aid, which we have never done before.”

Said Deitemeyer: “It is about increasing access and affordability, and it really is that affirmation of a commitment by both institutions to what we have also committed in our community—providing better pathways to students who need economic and social mobility to a greater career that allows you to be a greater citizen for Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.”

Armbrister referenced his time at Temple University in Philadelphia, where seeking transfers from community colleges was a priority. When he arrived at JCSU in 2018, he asked staff if they had articulation agreements, which guarantee classes completed at one institution will be accepted when a student transfers. They did not.

“We signed a general articulation agreement with the state that would allow students from community colleges to enter Johnson C. Smith as juniors, but what this particular agreement does is that it creates a guided pathway in a particular subject matter area,” Armbrister said. “It is really, really outstanding. We are looking forward to doing many, many more of these, because transfer students, as you look at the declining numbers and demographics of students who are going to college and looking at the cost of college, community college is a great way to kind of do both. You can reduce the cost of your overall college education and also get students who may not be traditional students.”

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