Holyoke Community College, Western New England University Sign Joint Admissions Pact
HOLYOKE — Western New England University (WNE) and Holyoke Community College (HCC) signed a joint admissions agreement this week intended to strengthen existing academic and student-support partnerships and facilitate an easier transfer pathway from HCC to WNE.
Representatives from the two colleges gathered at the Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development at HCC, where HCC President Christina Royal and WNE Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs Maria Toyoda put pen to paper.
“We’re really grateful to be able to expand our partnership with Western New England University and to be able to continue to strengthen the opportunities for students who want to start at HCC and transfer to Western New England,” HCC President Christina Royal said. “Students experience such a nurturing atmosphere here at HCC, and we are so grateful that Western New England recognizes that and helps to create a supportive environment for transfer students as they embark on their next level of education.”
The joint admissions program will serve as a guideline to simplify the transfer process for eligible HCC students to WNE after they complete their associate degrees and meet other conditions.
“I would echo the comments made by President Royal,” Toyoda said. “We are so proud to be collaborators and partners with an institution that believes as strongly as we do in preparing our students for the future of work. I also want to take the opportunity to recognize the faculty of both HCC and Western New England University, as well as the admissions staff and the advisors who make this possible and who put students’ success at the center of everything that they do.”
According to the agreement, students will be informed about the opportunity to participate in the joint admissions program when they apply to HCC. To qualify, students must earn a minimum cumulative 2.5 GPA and at least a C- or better in their major coursework, and complete their associate degree.
Students who satisfy the requirements are then eligible for several benefits, including guaranteed acceptance and junior status at WNE upon matriculation with an associate degree, 60 transfer credits, and waiver of the WNE general university requirements for students completing their associate degree and what’s known as the Mass Transfer General Education Foundation Block. Students seeking joint admission into specialized programs, including but not limited to business, engineering, computer science, chemistry, and biology, must satisfy all program requirements and earn the minimum cumulative GPA established for those programs.
