4Cs and UMass Dartmouth to Offer ‘Fixed Price’ Bachelor’s Degrees

Cape_Cod_Community_College_001WEST BARNSTABLE – Cape Cod Community College and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth have partnered to offer the UMass system’s first “fixed price” path to a bachelor’s degree.

Students from the community college will be able to select from four different pathways for a degree that will not cost more than $30,000 which is a savings of approximately $5,000.

“This is six years. You complete the associate’s degree. You are automatically just moved right into the program,” said Cape Cod Community College Spokesman Michael Gross. “It’s seamless and you keep going right through to the bachelor’s degree.”

The UMass Dartmouth degree programs will include General Business Administration, Liberal Studies, Political Science and Women’s and Gender Studies.

John Cox, the president of Cape Cod Community College, said he is happy to finally see the program become a reality after a signing ceremony was held last Friday.

“On behalf of our students, I am delighted that this partnership will offer a more affordable undergraduate education by creating a $30,000 associate to bachelor degree program,” he said. “We are proud to create this model initiative and to emphasize to the community a guaranteed, competitive price for both degrees.”

Students will still be eligible for additional financial aid that could further reduce the cost.

“This doesn’t change any of the access to financial aid. It doesn’t change any of that,” Gross said. “When you know the cost is fixed and when you know the aid is there, you know you can afford to come to college and go all the way to the bachelor’s degree.”

Gross said a goal will be to develop more pathways to different degree programs with UMass Dartmouth and possibly other institutions as well.

The articulation agreements should be in place before classes begin for the semester in late January.

“Those are formal pathways that says these are all the classes and this is how it all lines up so students know exactly how it works.”

Both institutions have agreed to take another look at the program after three years.

By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter

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