College News

Fisher and Onondaga Community College Announce 2+2 Partnership Agreement

11/28/2012

St. John Fisher College and Onondaga Community College in Syracuse today announced a 2+2 partnership agreement. It allows students who earn their degree at Onondaga to have all of their credits transfer with them to Fisher where they can complete their baccalaureate degree.

Onondaga Interim President Margaret M. “Meg” O’Connell and St. John Fisher College President, Dr. Donald Bain, formally signed the agreement at Onondaga this morning.

Effective immediately, students can register for the new 2+2 program, which will require them to complete two years of prescribed coursework at Onondaga for an associate’s degree, and continue on with coursework to earn a bachelor’s degree at Fisher in just two years.  A report released earlier this month by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows that earning a degree at a two-year college plays a key role in students succeeding when they transfer to four-year colleges.

The agreement covers 14 degree programs at Onondaga, including accounting, business administration, computer science, and nursing.  All of the undergraduate academic programs from Fisher’s School of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. School of Education, and Wegmans School of Nursing are part of the agreement.

Students enrolled in the 2+2 program will receive academic advising from both Onondaga and Fisher advisors throughout the program.

“We are thrilled with our new partnership with St. John Fisher and the opportunities it presents our students.  To be able to get a great start on your college education here at Onondaga, and continue it at Fisher is tremendous.  I commend everyone involved with making this happen,” said O’Connell.

With today’s signing, Onondaga now has 2+2 agreements with a total of four schools including University at Buffalo, SUNY Alfred, and Syracuse University.  St. John Fisher College has similar agreements with Finger Lakes Community College, Genesee Community College, and Monroe Community College.

“We are pleased to partner with Onondaga Community College in order to provide their students with a seamless transition from an associate’s degree to a baccalaureate degree,” said Bain. “Each year, our transfer student population is quickly assimilated into the campus community, enriching both the academic and social landscape. Academic alliances designed to benefit transfer students, therefore, are very important to us as an institution.”