To kick off National Transfer Student Week on Monday morning, students at Jefferson Community and Technical College got a chance to grab a donut, meet a couple college presidents and learn more about an option to pursue their bachelor’s degree just a block away from their current campus.
Spalding University President Tori Murden McClure and Jefferson President Ty Handy passed out breakfast to several dozen students at Jefferson’s Health Sciences Hall and helped spread the word about Spalding’s Jefferson transfer program called 2SU, which was officially formed one year ago this week.
“We really want students to finish their degrees (at Jefferson), then think of transferring somewhere,” McClure said. “It doesn’t have to be Spalding; just give Spalding a look.
“We’ve been great partners for a long time, and we finally formalized the pathway to move seamlessly from Jefferson to Spalding.”
Through 2SU, Jefferson students who declare their intention of eventually attending Spalding will be placed on a coursework plan that leads to the completion of their Jefferson associate’s degree while focusing on earning the right credits to be admitted into Spalding’s bachelor’s programs.
“It’s nice for a student to come here as a first-semester freshman and know exactly what they need and what route they can take to get to Spalding,” Handy said.
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Spalding will continue with JCTC-related Transfer Week activities in the coming days. On Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., representatives from Spalding will be passing out pizza on the Jefferson campus. Then, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Spalding will welcome Jefferson students to visit Spalding’s campus and attend its majors fair in the library.
“We have about 12,000 students here (at Jefferson), and about 6,000 of them intend to transfer somewhere,” Handy said. “We’re pleased to have such a great relationship with Spalding. Every year we send lots of students over to Spalding, and we appreciate the relationship they’ve built with us and the support they given us, and our students always say what a great experience they have at Spalding.”
Spalding School of Social Work master’s student Chauncey Burnett is a proud alumnus of both Jefferson Community and Technical College and Spalding, and he said he would encourage other students to follow the same Jefferson-to-Spalding path that he did.
“I have been telling a lot of people about it because it worked for me,” said Burnett, a 50-year-old father of five who in June won Spalding’s Meagher Award as one of the university’s top 2018 graduates. “I’m happy with where I’m at, education-wise and in life, and I’m like, ‘Man, you can do it, too.'”
For more information on 2SU, contact Spalding Director of Transfer Student Success Nikki Shedletsky at [email protected]. More information on Jefferson Community and Technical College is available at jefferson.kctcs.edu.