Guaranteed Admission, Housing, Scholarships Among Program Offerings

CONTACT:
Mike Lurie
Office: 410-455-6380
Cellphone: 443-695-0262
mlurie@umbc.edu

Nov. 3, 2006

BALTIMORE – The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and Montgomery College have launched a new program that will provide guaranteed admission and scholarship opportunities to qualified Montgomery College transfer students who wish to complete their bachelor’s degrees at UMBC.

UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III and Montgomery College President Charlene R. Nunley announced The Transfer Student Alliance program at the Rockville campus of Montgomery College before signing final documents to officially launch the partnership.

“UMBC and Montgomery College have a long history of working together. Indeed, some of our very best students and graduates began their studies at Montgomery College,” Hrabowski said. “The Transfer Student Alliance program will make it possible for our two institutions to identify even more students who can follow that path.”

Through the new Transfer Student Alliance program, which begins taking applicants this fall, qualified Montgomery College students will be given early access to UMBC facilities and services, including libraries and computer labs, and UMBC academic advising resources. Program participants will also be given the opportunity to participate in UMBC student activities and take one UMBC course each term at a discounted rate of tuition.

Montgomery College students who complete their associate’s degrees and the program’s requirements will be guaranteed transfer admission to UMBC. They will also be guaranteed on-campus housing at UMBC during their first year. The highlight of the program is a $1,500 merit scholarship for each of the two years of full-time study.

“The MC-UMBC Transfer Student Alliance is a program that breaks down any potential barrier that a Montgomery College student might face in trying to transfer – including the financial barrier,” Nunley said. “It is a program that will ensure that more students will be able to successfully complete their four-year degree at a high-quality institution such as UMBC.”

Last year, nearly 550 Montgomery College students continued their studies at UMBC. Officials from both institutions anticipate the Transfer Student Alliance program will lead to greater numbers of MC students transferring to UMBC to complete their undergraduate education.

The program allows Montgomery College students to transfer either to UMBC’s main campus in Baltimore or its satellite location at the Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville, Md. UMBC offers 40 majors in Baltimore. At the Universities at Shady Grove, UMBC offers bachelor’s degrees in political science, psychology or social work.

For more information, visit http://www.umbc.edu/tsa/