(Front row from left to right): Scott Ermer and Dan Yoder (Back row from left to right): Ken Carroll (Kirkwood), Don McLean (WIU), Rob Porter (WIU), Lloyd Kilmer (WIU), Kristi Mindrup (WIU)
Agreement will benefit students in Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration/Natural Resource Management field beginning in Fall 2015
Moline, Ill. (June 3, 2015)—Kirkwood Community College students studying natural resources management will be able to take classes from Western Illinois University (WIU) that will apply towards Bachelor of Science degrees, through the WIU Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration (RPTA). The agreement applies to students who have completed one year of Kirkwood courses and will begin in Fall of 2015.
According to RPTA Chair Dan Yoder, the reverse transfer agreement between the two institutions enables Kirkwood students to take part in an accelerated program and enroll in classes at the university’s Quad City campus. These classes apply toward a Bachelor’s degree at Western Illinois.
“The general education and technical classes taken at Western will transfer back to Kirkwood and count toward the requirements for an Associate’s degree,” said Yoder. “Through this agreement, students will have the opportunity to learn from a diverse collection of faculty from both institutions, who are leaders in the field. Because the program allows students to earn their degrees in a shorter period of time, they will save a significant amount of money.”
Yoder noted while this program has many benefits for WIU and Kirkwood, students would reap the greatest benefit. They will spend less overall to earn their college degrees and will be able to begin their careers sooner.
“This innovative program enables a student to choose to take classes in the summer, resulting in his or her ability to earn an Associate’s degree and a Bachelor’s degree in as few as three years,” said Yoder. According to Kirkwood Dean of Agriculture Sciences Scott Ermer, the agreement came about through the ongoing work of personnel at both institutions.
“The path to this partnership began a couple of years ago, when Dr. Don McLean, the previous WIU-QC RPTA coordinator, contacted Kirkwood Agricultural Sciences. Since then, we, along with current WIU RPTA Program Coordinator Dr. Rob Porter, have worked on the curriculum and logistics of the agreement,” said Ermer.