RMU partners with 4 community colleges for new dual enrollment program

Leaders of five higher education institutions in the region announced a new partnership Thursday, with the goal of improving college accessibility and affordability.

Officials from Robert Morris University, Community College of Allegheny County, Community College of Beaver County, Butler County Community College and Westmoreland County Community College signed an agreement for a new initiative called RMU Gateway.

Starting in Fall 2021, students enrolled in any of the four community colleges can have dual enrollment at RMU and take 12 RMU courses while working toward their associate degree. Tuition for those credits will be equal to what students pay at their community college.

Students in the Gateway program can also live in RMU housing, use the meal plan and access any facilities. After completing their associate degree, they will transfer to RMU, where they’ll be eligible for annual scholarships ranging from $3,000 to $12,000 a year.

“RMU Gateway will not only put college in the reach of thousands of students, but it also bolsters the commitment of each institution to ensuring that Western Pennsylvania has that highly-skilled, professionally-focused workforce it needs to sustain itself for economic growth,” said RMU President Chris Howard. “We’re training the workforce of the future, together.”

The collaboration, leaders said, would leverage the institutions’ collective strengths and make higher education more affordable and accessible for students in the region.

“For CCAC career-focused students, this partnership provides just the kind of flexibility they need to compete in today’s ever-changing and complex global society,” said CCAC President Quintin Bullock.

The five colleges have a combined enrollment of more than 30,000 students, Howard said. The agreement comes during a turbulent time for higher education and for community colleges, in particular. Nationwide, enrollment at colleges has declined sharply during the pandemic and the challenges of online learning. Pennsylvania’s institutions have not been immune to the trend.

But RMU officials say this agreement was underway long before the pandemic, and would have come together either way. Jonathan Potts, an RMU spokesman, said part of the university’s strategic plan, implemented in January 2018, is to build more pipelines to improve college accessibility. The university is focusing on multiple platforms, he said, to address the ways four-year universities have fallen behind in reaching certain student groups.

The RMU Gateway program is the latest example of how colleges and universities in the region and across the state are restructuring to attract more students. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education has begun major reorganization in the last several months, including mergers and the elimination of certain academic programs. Indiana University of Pennsylvania struck its own deal with WCCC for a dual admissions program. Point Park University in December also announced a new program for transfer students out of the State System, which also included scholarships and additional academic advising.

Howard predicted the newest collaboration would help all of the institutions’ students through the difficulties of learning during the covid crisis, noting that participants will also have access to RMU’s online courses, student services and student activities. RMU is in a central location to all of the campuses, as well, and will create a “Transfer Success Center” to help Gateway participants transition from community college.

Roger Davis, president of CCBC, called the collaboration a “natural evolution of how higher education should work,” while leaders noted that an agreement between this many institutions is unprecedented.

“This means working together for our students, listening to the needs of the region and sharing – not duplicating – resources,” Davis said.