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CEI, U of I announce joint admission deal

CEI, U of I announce joint admission deal

Aman
Falcons who wish to get a bachelor’s degree will now be able to become Vandals without filling out a transfer application. The joint admission and joint enrollment agreement between the College of Eastern Idaho and the University of Idaho is the first such between any university and community college in the state, said Marc Skinner, executive officer of U of I’s Idaho Falls Center. The agreement will let students who get an associate degree at CEI register for classes and continue at any U of I location. “I hope that this serves as a template and that there can be other similar partnerships,” Skinner said. “You have to start and do it and learn. It’s a perfect time here because of the newly created college and their desire to think outside the box and try some things, and, of course, they’re just building so the timing was perfect for us to do this.” CEI’s Board of Trustees plans to adopt the agreement at its meeting Wednesday, which will begin at 6 p.m. in Room 6164 on CEI’s campus. The meeting should be a busy one; the board also plans to vote on its choice for college president. The four finalists for the job participated in public forums in Idaho Falls in late November. Students who are enrolled at CEI now will be able to take advantage of the joint admission agreement if they fill out the application and meet U of I’s minimum requirements, said CEI spokesman Todd Wightman. CEI interim President Rick Aman called the deal “an outward expression of our college’s commitment to work with community college students in an innovative way.” “These students will recognize CEI as a path beyond a two-year associate degree toward a bachelor’s degree with our university partner,” he said. “This agreement is unique in Idaho as it enables a community college student to enroll both at CEI and U of I with a bachelor’s degree as their end goal.”
Students who are accepted for joint admission will be given an email address from both schools and pay tuition and fees associated with whichever institution is offering a specific course, and U of I will have advising spaces on the CEI campus for students in the joint program. “I think it’s innovative and it’s going to help a lot of people,” Wightman said. In the news release announcing the deal, the two institution said it would make it easier for people in eastern Idaho to get a bachelor’s degree and help to move the state toward its goal of increasing the number of adults with a degree. “Offering the option of joint enrollment will provide a seamless transition for students who continue their education beyond their associate degree,” U of I President Chuck Staben said in a release. “This effort will more clearly communicate professional pathways for students and raise the educational attainment rates of the region and the state.”

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