Konapelsky, FSUPC registrar; Missy Conner, FSUPC
director of Student Affairs; Tom Kelley, FSUPC faculty
member of public safety and security; FSUPC Dean
Ken Shaw; Allison DeFoor, chairman of the TCC board
of trustees; Ken McDonald, FSUPC faculty member of
public safety and security; and TCC President Jim
Murdaugh.
Florida State University Panama City and Tallahassee Community College have entered into a new partnership that will allow TCC students to take FSUPC course offerings on the TCC campus. FSU Panama City Dean Ken Shaw and Tallahassee Community College President Jim Murdaugh signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the partnership in January.
The agreement establishes initial articulations in two academic degree program areas: the TCC Associate in Science degree in criminal justice technology will articulate to the FSU Panama City Bachelor of Science degree in public safety and security, police science major; the TCC Associate in Arts degree will articulate in its entirety (60 credit hours) to the FSU Panama City Bachelor of Science in public safety and security, law enforcement operations major.
“Evidence shows that the sooner students develop their career goals and get started in their course work toward those goals, the better their retention and success rates are,” said Barbara Sloan, TCC provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. “This agreement gives TCC students a great opportunity to participate in a major as early as their second year of college.”
“This is an exciting new opportunity for TCC students who are ultimately seeking a B.S. degree in this high demand field of study,” Shaw said. “While working toward completion of either their A.S. or A.A. degree at the TCC campus, these students will be able to also make significant progress toward completion of their B.S. degree. This partnership is all about helping students complete their degree as cost-efficiently and conveniently as possible.”
Degree-seeking students who have completed at least 30 semester hours at TCC and are in good academic standing will be eligible to participate in the new program. TCC students may take up to 15 semester hours of junior/senior-level courses toward completion of the public safety and security B.S. degree offered by FSU Panama City. After completion of the A.S. or A.A. at TCC, students will be able to transfer to FSU Panama City to complete the public safety and security B.S. degree through online or on-campus coursework enrollment.