FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Tracie Stone
Ph: 603-493-2647
E-mail: traciestone@comcast.net

Granite State College and Great Bay Community College to Work Together

August 21, 2008 CONCORD - Granite State College and Great Bay Community College have begun working together to deliver a seamless pathway to students wishing to pursue a career in education.  

The collaboration between the two colleges enables students who successfully complete coursework leading to an associate degree from Great Bay Community College to automatically matriculate, without additional application fees, to Granite State College where they can complete their bachelor’s degree and earn their post-baccalaureate teacher certification.  Students can then apply their post-baccalaureate work toward credit needed for a master’s degree from Keene State College. 

“Our collaboration with Great Bay Community College makes earning a degree and pursuing a career in education even easier and more affordable,” said Karol LaCroix, president of Granite State College.  “Granite State College is proud to offer the only field- and competency-based teacher certification model in the state.” 

The innovative partnership is especially appealing to paraprofessionals wishing to advance further in the field of education and individuals looking to change career paths and pursue teaching.

"Partnerships like this are essential to achieving our mission of providing an affordable, quality higher education to students seeking career and degree opportunities as well as seamless transitions to baccalaureate institutions.  This program allows our students to capitalize on the strengths of each institution and supports our goal of providing our students with improved access to a good education and a positive outcome,” said Will Arvelo, president of Great Bay Community College.  “Through this program our students receive the education they need to succeed in their chosen career while saving time and money.”
Students choosing to take advantage of this innovative program earn 68 credits at Great Bay Community College for their associate degree and an additional 60 credits at Granite State College to complete the requirements for their bachelor’s degree. Advising from each institution is provided to participating students.
Teacher Certification can be earned with 32 additional credits from Granite State College.  Of these, 24 credits can be applied toward the masters program at Keene State College leaving the need to earn only 12 additional credits to earn a master’s degree.

Students enrolled in as little as one 4-credit course at Granite State College are eligible for financial aid.

Granite State College is one of four University System of New Hampshire institutions and a leader in online education.  It offers associate and bachelor’s degrees, post-baccalaureate programs for teacher education and transfer opportunities.

With four regional centers in Concord, Conway, Rochester and Claremont and additional learning sites in Manchester, Portsmouth, Berlin, Littleton and Lebanon, Granite State College is committed to delivering affordable and convenient access to higher education via innovative programming. 

Learn more about Granite State College by visiting www.granite.edu.