The Citadel making it easier for business majors at 2-year schools to get a 4-year diploma

Photo: Students attending classes through the Tommy and Victoria Baker School of Business

As seen in The Post and Courier, by John McDermott

The Citadel is looking to expand enrollment in its business administration major under new transfer agreements with two-year colleges around the Southeast.

The partnerships will allow eligible students from 27 other public schools to earn a four-year bachelor’s degree from the Charleston military college.

The agreements include colleges in six southern states. They allow qualifying students who are pursuing or have already earned an associate’s degree in business automatic acceptance into the Baker School of Business. Their credits will be transferred “seamlessly,” according to a written statement from The Citadel on Monday.

The participants will be enrolled in civilian classes separate from the Corps of Cadets. They can study online, on campus or both.

“We are excited to support the advancement of business students … through these agreements,” said Jeremy Bennet, director of the degree completion program at The Citadel. “Our program is designed to meet the needs of those students while allowing them to stay in their communities. Students in these two-year programs will have shown the dedication needed to complete their associate degrees. Now, they won’t have to sacrifice credits when transferring to The Citadel.”

The new offering includes “a transfer course equivalency table” that spells out which specific classes students must complete in order to make the transition to the four-year business administration program.

Eight South Carolina schools are making the four-year diploma option available, including Trident Technical College in the Charleston region.

The others around the state are Aiken Technical College, Greenville Technical College, Horry Georgetown Technical College, Midlands Technical College, Northeastern Technical College, Technical College of the Lowcountry and Williamsburg Technical College.

Two-year schools in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia also are participating.

“The best educational pathways in our state result from partnerships, and our agreement with The Citadel is a perfect example,” said Jermaine Whirl, vice president of learning and workforce development at Greenville Tech.

Information about the cost was not immediately available.