From: Pearl River Community CollegeMarketing & Communications
William Carey University and Pearl River Community College created new pathways to success for Hancock County students Oct. 2 through the signing of two memorandums of agreement.
Agreement 1: Teacher shortage
In the first agreement, William Carey University will provide education classes for third- and fourth-year students of Pearl River’s Hancock County Center.
"This is a great opportunity to address a problem that has been taking place for many years. The teacher shortage is real, and we are excited to be partnering with an outstanding university like William Carey and offering the foundation to help shore up this issue for our surrounding communities,” PRCC President Dr. Adam Breerwood said.
Participating students would remain at PRCC’s campus after completing their associate degrees and finish their bachelor’s degrees as WCU students. These students will also receive a near 50 percent reduction in tuition.
“We are proud to have this partnership. It broadens our base of students that we can reach,” WCU Executive Vice President Dean of Education Dr. Ben Burnett said.
“Our undergraduate teacher education program at William Carey has grown tremendously – 100 percent in the last two years. We want to continue to create as many classroom teachers as we can, in part because our schools need many new teachers to replace those who are retiring.”
Superintendent of Hancock County Schools and PRCC board member Allen Dedeaux said this is a powerful partnership: “For our students to get this opportunity to continue their education at an affordable price is going to be a game-changer. We have a lot of students with other responsibilities and jobs and with the flexibility embedded in this program, I think that’s going to be a benefit to all.”
The two institutions made the same agreement for Pearl River’s Poplarville campus in 2018 and now have a successful first class of graduates teaching in Pearl River County schools. The program is scheduled to start at PRCC’s Hancock County campus in fall 2021.
Agreement 2: Transfer credits
In the second agreement, PRCC students who want to continue their education beyond an associate degree will be able to apply some, if not all, of their technical and academic credits toward a bachelor’s degree at WCU.
Students can take advantage of this transfer option immediately.
Burnett saw the benefits of this transfer option firsthand as his son graduated in the spring from PRCC’s Unmanned Aerial Program while also earning a bachelor’s degree in math and business from WCU.
“It just gives people more options,” Burnett said. “The days are gone of someone graduating with one degree and staying in that job all their life. People don’t just change jobs, they change careers. Because of that, we’ve got to give people as many options as we can. That is the beauty of what our community colleges and career technical education can do.”
PRCC’s Breerwood said these new programs are important: “There are so many routes to success. These two really need to be on the forefront because they not only address the need for people to be able to receive opportunities for outstanding professions, but it also helps us solidify and bring up the younger generation by putting more quality teachers in the classroom.”
In the photo: Superintendent of Hancock County Schools Allen Dedeaux, PRCC President Dr. Adam Breerwood, WCU Executive Vice President Dean of Education Dr. Ben Burnett, and WCU Assistant Director of Student Services Dr. Alesia Haynes.