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Southwestern Michigan College and Western Michigan University signed psychology and social sciences articulation agreements Aug. 18.

The agreements were signed by SMC Academic Dean Dr. Melissa Kennedy of the School of Health, Natural and Social Sciences, WMU Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Dr. Stephanie Peterson, WMU Department of Psychology Chair Dr. Jonathan Baker and SMC Social Sciences Department Chair Dr. Barbara Karwacinski.

“(Professor Christy Tidd and I worked on these agreements over the summer, and we are thrilled to be signing them as they open excellent transfer opportunities for our students,” Karwacinski said.

“We want students to have seamless transitions when they come to Western,” Peterson said. “These are things we’ve worked on for a while with community colleges. From our perspective, the environment is more competitive than ever between the different institutions. We want to make sure students have meaningful pathways that will serve them well. Making it work for students is our primary goal.”

Students can transfer up to 60 credit hours from SMC’s A.A. in Psychology program toward WMU’s B.S. in Psychology.

Tidd has been instrumental in the success of A.A. in Psychology at SMC. She developed the curriculum for all psychology courses in the program, advises psychology students and adjunct faculty and lends passion and expertise to teaching and curriculum development.

The Social Sciences articulation agreement enables students to transfer 60 credits from SMC to WMU to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Social Science — an option for those interested in the pre-law track.

The second track, Social Science – Secondary Education, allows students to transfer 60 credits from SMC to WMU to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Social Science – Secondary Education.

WMU offers an accelerated one-year graduate degree in secondary education. Students accepted into this program may complete up to 12 graduate credit hours during their senior year at the undergraduate tuition rate. 

This creates an efficient academic pathway: fulltime students can complete their A.A. in Social Sciences in two years, their B.A. in Social Sciences in an additional two years and their M.A. in Teaching: Secondary Education in just one more year. 

“I am very excited about these newly- created articulation agreements, as they provide our students with clear and rewarding pathways to further education and fulfilling careers,” Karwacinski said. “At SMC, students are at the heart of everything we do, and these agreements reflect that commitment — insuring they have the opportunities, support and guidance needed to achieve their goals.”

SMC and WMU signed a social work articulation agreement April 7.

“We could not have accomplished this without Megg Kupres, who played a key role in coordinating the articulation agreement process,” Karwacinski said. “We are especially thankful for her guidance in shaping the content of these agreements, ensuring they reflect the best opportunities for our students.”

Kupres nine months ago joined WMU from SMC as manager of recruitment and outreach, transfer, College of Arts and Sciences Advising.

“I came in knowing I wanted to target psychology because so many students are already coming to Western from SMC,” Kupres said, “especially with psychology being an online option, too. Biology, freshwater science and environmental sustainability, avenues for those might work, too. I’ll be here a lot.”