Two North Carolina colleges, Central Carolina Community College in Sanford and Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, have signed a partnership agreement to guide students preparing for health programs at the other’s campus to ease the transfer process and increase access to high-demand careers. The signing of the agreement took place on Wednesday at the Central Carolina campus.
The Regional Health Sciences Partnership offers students the ability to begin their studies at the community college of their choice before transferring to the college that hosts the specific health program they are seeking to enter. Students will be supported by the student services staff and academic advisors at their home institution so they are prepared to meet the requirements needed for admission to the health program of their choice at the other college.
“We often have students interested in programs we do not offer and seats available in programs we do offer,” said Rebecca Roush, provost and chief academic officer at Sandhills Community College, in a press release. “We hoped to partner with other colleges to give access to the programs students wanted while maximizing the use of our resources and this new partnership with Central Carolina does just that. It benefits the students, the colleges and the community by producing highly skilled healthcare professionals.”
The Regional Health Sciences Partnership is a cooperative effort by both Central Carolina and Sandhills Community Colleges, with flexibility for future expansion to other community colleges in the immediate vicinity. Due to the high startup costs for facilities and equipment, not all colleges can offer the same programs. The colleges see a mutual benefit in assisting students to transfer and apply to programs at a nearby college, giving broader access to students, increasing enrollment in established programs, and increasing graduates to fill the needs of the healthcare workforce.
Initial programs offered through the Regional Health Sciences Partnership include Dental Assisting and Veterinary Medical Technology at Central Carolina Community College and Medical Laboratory Technology and Respiratory Therapy at Sandhills Community College, with opportunity to expand to additional programs and additional colleges.
“We’re so excited to partner with Sandhills Community College on this innovative, collaborative approach to meet workforce and community demand for healthcare professionals in a variety of fields,” said Kristi Short, vice president and chief academic officer at Central Carolina Community College. “We aim to give students access to programs that help them achieve their career goals and to increase the number of graduates from our programs to fill open healthcare positions. This is a win for students, a win for colleges, and a win for our communities.”
Through this partnership, the two colleges will assist students through the process of selecting courses and transferring to another college, which can be daunting for students to navigate on their own. The colleges will also assist students to find clinical placements in their local communities where possible.
More information about each college can be found at www.cccc.edu and www.sandhills.edu. The colleges have a partnership that launched recently for a program pathway with Vet Tech https://www.sandhills.edu/programs/health-sciences/vet-tech.html.
Feature photo: Celebrating the signing: From left to right back row: Dr. Kristi Short, vice president and chief academic officer from Central Carolina; and from Sandhills Community College, Sue Senior, senior professor, Health Sciences; Dr. Rebecca Roush, senior vice president of Academic Affairs and Institutional Planning; April Ikner, director, Student Onboarding and Engagement; and Tricia Donadio, director of Health Programs Student Support. Front row: President of Central Carolina Community College, Dr. Lisa M. Chapman with Dr. Sandy Stewart, president of Sandhills Community College.
Contributed article and photo.
