Officials from both institutions formalized the agreement at a signing ceremony on Wednesday, February 2, at 10am in Room 140 of the C. Ted Lick Wildwood Conference Center at HACC's Wildwood Campus.
Under the agreement between Eastern College and HACC, students who earn their associate degree at HACC are assured a place at Eastern to complete their bachelor's degree.
"This program is an outstanding example of how higher education institutions can work together effectively for the direct benefit of our students," said HACC President Dr. Edna V. Baehre. "HACC's agreement with Eastern expands the opportunities for our students to pursue their four-year degree while offering them high quality, affordable education."
"Since the beginning of Eastern's Degree Completion Program in the central Pennsylvania area, Harrisburg Area Community College has been a primary source of students, and an excellent location for continuing coursework for our students," said Dr. Robert Willey, Jr., dean of the School of Professional Studies. "The relationship has been mutually beneficial, and now that it is being formalized in an articulation agreement - it will be even better."
The agreement enables students to apply to both institutions simultaneously, as early as their senior year of high school. Students in the program can take advantage of financial aid opportunities at both institutions, and will have access to academic and career advising services as well as library resources and campus facilities at all locations at HACC and Eastern.
HACC, with an enrollment of nearly 11,000 students, has campuses in Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon, and Gettysburg. Eastern College, a Christian college of the arts and sciences located in St. Davids, a western suburb of Philadelphia, enrolls 2,700 students in its undergraduate, graduate, and School of Professional Studies programs. Eastern has 14 class sites across Eastern Pennsylvania, including a site in Harrisburg and a new Institute for Urban Studies in Philadelphia.
