Consortium of southern Oregon colleges and universities to strengthen transfer agreements
(Ashland, Ore.) — Delegations from each of the institutions that make up the new Southern Oregon Higher Education Consortium will meet this month to discuss the seamless transfer of credits from colleges to universities and other matters of shared interest. The consortium members are Klamath Community College, Oregon Institute of Technology, Rogue Community College and Southern Oregon University.
The Feb. 25 event, 5:15 to 7:30 p.m. in the Rogue River Room of SOU’s Stevenson Union, will be an expanded version of the annual “Articulation Retreat” that counterparts from SOU and RCC have held for the past several years. This year’s version will include groups from Oregon Tech and KCC.
“We believe this event provides a wonderful opportunity for our SOHEC colleagues to build on what already is an enormously successful collaboration,” said SOU Provost Sue Walsh and RCC Vice President for Instructional Services Leo Hirner in their joint invitation to colleagues at the other institutions.
The consortium, a first-of-its-kind alliance of Oregon colleges and universities, is aimed at streamlining students’ educational pathways and addressing southern Oregon’s specific workforce needs. The ongoing collaborative effort took root with the four institutions’ presidents following a joint lunch meeting a year ago, and was announced in late November with signing events in both Klamath Falls and Medford.
SOHEC is considered a pioneering step toward preparing students and workforce members in the region for a rapidly changing future. It has been endorsed by state officials including the governor and the chair of Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission.
The Feb. 25 Articulation Retreat will be an opportunity for information-sharing by staff members from the SOHEC institutions’ enrollment services, admissions, academic advising, curriculum and other support services offices. The goal of the event is to improve and expand transfer programs and other cooperative agreements among the schools, to make it easier, faster and more affordable for students to transition from one degree program to the next.
Representatives of media outlets will be welcome to report on the evening’s discussions.
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