New Mexico Junior College and Texas Tech University Signing

By Stacy Gumula, Academic Admin Coordinator

On Nov 19, Texas Tech University and New Mexico Junior College signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), and an articulation agreement for the Animal Sciences program. These new agreements with NMJC further promote the Destination Raiderland program as well as provide opportunities for NMJC students to seamlessly become Red Raiders. Destination Raiderland continues to grow as Texas Tech develops MOUs and articulation agreements with other institutions to help support the mission of "TTU From Anywhere."

The Memorandum of Understanding serves as an institutional handshake between TTU and NMJC and opens the opportunity for more articulation agreements in other degree programs to be created. With an MOU in place, the institutions can collaborate to create program-to-program alliances to reduce the amount of excess credits, inform of specific coursework needed, and provide seamless pathways for students to become Red Raiders. As Melanie Hart, vice provost for eLearning & Academic Partnerships told Texas Tech Today, "We want to provide opportunities for the students to transfer to Texas Tech with a minimum loss of hours. With agreements like the one being signed today, students can be advised at NMJC on courses they should take so the transition to Texas Tech is seamless."

Articulation agreements are specific pathways for degree programs, which provide precise courses needed to transfer into a specific degree program. The goal is to create 2+2 agreements where students can complete their bachelor's degree in four years. These pathways take an immense amount of work and effort at both institutions, as deans, professors, and academic advisors must work to evaluate all courses and ensure degree applicability. As Texas Tech President Dr. Schovanec said, a high percentage of students transferring from other institutions graduate with excess credits, and part of that "is a lack of a clear, intentional pathway to take advantage of the program so that the courses transferred count towards the degree. That's why these memorandums are meaningful, to make sure credits taken at NMJC count for the degree they seek at Texas Tech." With articulation agreements in place, students are guaranteed applicability for the courses listed in the agreement to the corresponding degree program at Texas Tech. With this particular animal sciences articulation agreement, NMJC students could eventually feed in to the new School of Veterinary Medicine.

Currently, the Office of Academic Partnerships is working to have Memorandums of Understanding in place with every community college in the state of Texas. It has recently broadened its scope to include neighboring states, as Texas Tech University offers in-state tuition for bordering counties. New Mexico Junior College students in Hobbs, New Mexico, can now take advantage of the in-state tuition pricing, as well as transfer scholarship opportunities. NMJC President Kelvin Sharp, emphasized that "the least expensive approach to a Texas Tech degree for students in Southeast New Mexico and West Texas is through this partnership."

Officials from both Texas Tech University and New Mexico Junior College sign the documents for the partnership.

TTU President Dr. Lawrence Schovanec and NMJC President Dr. Kelvin Sharp seal the agreement with a handshake.

NMJC Vice President Dr. Larry Sanderson, TTU President Dr. Lawrence Schovanec, TTU Vice Provost Dr. Melanie Hart, NMJC President Dr. Kelvin Sharp, TTU Provost Dr. Michael Galyean. 

 

Each entity provides a portfolio for the official signing.