This content was published: March 22, 2006. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
PCC signs co-enrollment pact with PSU, local colleges
Photos and story by James Hill
On Tuesday, March 21, presidents of Portland, Chemeketa, Clackamas and Mt. Hood community colleges joined Portland State University’s president to sign an historic co-enrollment agreement at PSU’s new Urban Center in downtown Portland.
“This made so much sense that we had to do it,” said PCC District President Preston Pulliams. “This consortium is a united response to increase student success.”
Other presidents in attendance included Daniel Bernstine of PSU, Robert Silverman of Mt. Hood, Joe Johnson of Clackamas and Gretchen Schuette of Chemeketa,
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the presidents officially forms the Portland Area Higher Education Consortium, a mutual pledge of five of Oregon’s largest institutions to integrate student admissions and enrollment, academic planning and support services. The end result will be greater access to courses and degrees for students without having to negotiate multiple systems, and a more efficient and effective delivery of educational programs in the region. Implementation of this initiative is targeted for fall of 2007.
The MOU agreed to by each school focuses on integrated admissions and registration for students, and coordinated financial aid and advising. The agreement, the first of its kind in the Northwest, also calls for joint academic planning, sharing classroom facilities where possible, and the opportunity for students to complete a four-year degree from Portland State while remaining on the community college campus.
PCC staff in attendance and recognized by Pulliams included Christine Chairsell (Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs), Barb VanAmerongen (dean of Instruction at the Sylvania Campus), Diane Mulligan (dean of Student Development at Sylvania), Katherine Persson (Rock Creek Campus president), Algie Gatewood (Cascade Campus president) and Craig Kolins (director of Enrollment Services).
Guy Sievert, coordinator of the Portland Area Higher Education Consortium and former Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at PCC, was pivotal in bringing this agreement to fruition.
“A student at one school is a student at all five,” Sievert said. “That’s what we were working towards. This eliminates the need for students to go out to five different institutions, fill out five different applications, and find five different financial aid packages. The future for them is bright.”
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »