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A new agreement with ����ֱ�� State College will allow graduates of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s forest technology associate-degree major to earn a four-year degree at the West Virginia institution.

“This is especially advantageous to students because ����ֱ�� will accept all of our credits from the two-year degree, allowing for a seamless transition into its four-year program,” said Mary A. Sullivan, assistant dean of natural resources management at Penn College. “This is a ‘2+2’ degree of the purest kind. Our students can start there as juniors and need only complete an additional 68 credits for the bachelor’s degree.”

����ֱ�� offers a bachelor-of-science degree in natural resource management-forest technology.

Penn College is a party to the agreement via its affiliation with the Society of American Foresters, which long has recognized the college’s two-year forest technology major. (Only bachelor-degree programs, such as that offered at The Pennsylvania State University, are formally accredited by SAF.)

"I think the articulation agreement is a wonderful way for forestry majors to complete their education,” said Peter Barr, ����ֱ�� State College president. “One of the benefits of such a program is that it is a hands-on program. Consequently, the four-year program ensures that the graduates are not only well-versed in academic content, but have applied the theory, as well. Also, it is my understanding that the demand for these graduates is continuing to grow."

Despite the fact that most transfer students would be charged out-of-state tuition, the expense is within their means, Sullivan noted. Under ����ֱ��’s current figures, for instance, tuition and fees for a student carrying 12 credits are comparable to those charged at Penn College for the 2006-07 academic year.