Pellissippi State partnerships ‘connect’ students to four-year degrees

Because of a program called the “University Connection,” students can now earn a bachelor’s degree from East Tennessee State University or Tennessee Technological University without leaving the Pellissippi State Technical Community College campus.

Through the University Connection, students with an associate’s degree in engineering technology or certain other programs can enroll at ETSU or TTU in a corresponding four-year degree program. The courses are taught by ETSU and TTU faculty members on the Pellissippi State campus.

“The University Connection offers a real advantage to students who want to complete a four-year degree from ETSU or TTU but are in a situation where it’s hard for them to leave Knoxville,” said Dennis Adams. Adams is dean of Instructional Programs and administrator of the University Connection at Pellissippi State.

The University Connection partnership provides several associate’s-to-bachelor’s degree options in engineering, as well as one in interior design. Additionally, students interested in becoming elementary school teachers can earn an Associate of Science degree from Pellissippi State, then pursue a bachelor’s in elementary education from TTU.

In all, more than 120 students are already enrolled in the ETSU and TTU bachelor’s degree classes at Pellissippi State, and Adams says the schools continue to create joint degree agreements to meet the demand.

Fall semester of 2006, for example, Pellissippi State and ETSU will begin offering a bachelor’s degree program in Professional Studies with a concentration in Organizational Leadership for students who have completed an associate’s degree in E-Commerce/Marketing, Management or Office Systems Technology.

“East Tennessee State and Pellissippi State have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship for a number of years,” said Glenda Ross, ETSU’s site coordinator at Pellissippi State. “And both institutions are committed to continuing and increasing opportunities to provide Pellissippi State graduates with a quality undergraduate program on the Pellissippi State campus.”

FOR INFORMATION ON PELLISSIPPI STATE’S UNIVERSITY CONNECTION:

Dennis Adams, (865) 694-6448 or dadams@pstcc.edu