Montclair State and Bergen Community College Approve Automatic Transfer Initiative

In a move that will continue to create new pathways for students to pursue affordable higher education in New Jersey, Montclair State University and Bergen Community College (BCC) have formalized a dual enrollment automatic transfer initiative allowing associate degree candidates at BCC to seamlessly transfer to the research doctoral university and pursue bachelor’s degrees in selected programs.

The program continues to expand on the statewide transfer agreement with a specialized Montclair State two-plus-two model designed to facilitate a four-year path to an undergraduate degree from one of New Jersey’s most affordable public universities.

As part of the agreement, a Montclair State University representative will be on-site at BCC’s Paramus campus and fully engaged in the BCC community to aid in the transfer process.

“This agreement provides more New Jersey community college students with the guidance necessary to plan their pathway to attaining a specific baccalaureate degree,” says Montclair State University President Susan A. Cole. “The University’s long-standing relationship with Bergen Community College will be strengthened by our greater presence on their campus, and by the additional opportunities that BCC students in the program will have to engage in activities on our campus.”

“Articulation agreements provide community college students with a defined path from entry to graduation and transfer,” says Bergen President B. Kaye Walter. “We are excited to enhance our existing relationship with Montclair State University, which already represents a top choice of many Bergen graduates, to enable a seamless transfer process.”

To be eligible, students who have enrolled in the fall 2016 semester or later at BCC must currently be pursuing and eventually complete the Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degrees offered by the institution. Students who applied to Montclair State as first-time, full-time freshmen for the fall 2016 semester but were not granted admission and are enrolled at BCC are also eligible for the program, provided they are pursuing successfully either of the associate degree tracks.

Program participants will choose one of 17 specially designated majors at Montclair State.

“Bergen Community College has long been a close collaborator and our largest source of community college transfers, and this partnership will capitalize on that relationship in order to best serve the students of Bergen County in attaining an affordable, high-quality education in a reasonable time frame,” said Montclair State University Director of Undergraduate Admissions Jeffrey Indiveri-Gant. “We want to make the process of transferring to a four-year institution as seamless as possible, and by signing this agreement, we are affirming our joint commitment to this goal.”