PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College (BCC) and Westfield State University (WSU) have created a partnership designed to encourage and streamline the transfer of qualified students from BCC to WSU.

 

Known as a "transfer articulation agreement," the arrangement awards academic credit for qualifying courses completed in the Associate's Degree in Liberal Arts program at BCC and applies them toward the requirements for the WSU Bachelor of Science in Education (BSE) degree with licensure.

 

The agreement provides BCC students seeking to transfer to WSU with guidelines for the application process, including  information on transferring coursework and credits, whether completed or outstanding.

 

"Berkshire Community College supports a barrier-free public academic experience," said Patricia Kay, BCC Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education and Education Department Chair. "Streamlining the process of transferring to WSU can only improve the value of an affordable public education, which cannot be understated."

 

The articulation agreement was designed to meet the terms of the statewide MassTransfer Pathways Program in Elementary Education, a collaboration among the Commonwealth's community colleges, state universities and the University of Massachusetts.

 

Under the agreement, WSU guarantees the acceptance of students to its BSE degree program who complete the BCC Liberal Arts Associates Degree program with an overall GPA of 2.80 or higher. These BCC students, who may be admitted to WSU via either the full-time undergraduate day division (Office of Admission) or the College of Graduate and Continuing Education (CGCE), will be guaranteed 60 credits in transfer upon completing the associate degree under the terms of the MassTransfer Pathways Program. For registration information at WSU, visit www.westfield.ma.edu/admissions, call (413) 579-3040 or email admissions@ westfield.ma.edu.