Purdue, Grace College create partnership
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) – Purdue University and Grace College are partnering to help Grace students further their education. Purdue says beginning next spring, Grace College juniors and seniors will have the opportunity to gain additional qualifications to jump start their master’s degrees as undergraduates.
The schools say the goal is to enable Grace students to earn credits online toward a Purdue master’s degree.
Purdue Online will coordinate partnerships involving courses from four Purdue campuses, including the main campus in West Lafayette, Purdue Fort Wayne, Purdue Northwest and the university’s virtual campus, Purdue Global.
“Grace has been a fabulous partner as we have jointly worked toward this novel, innovative agreement designed to directly benefit Grace’s students,” said Gerry McCartney, executive vice president for Purdue Online. “And it enables Purdue to better fulfill its Land-Grant mission. We have a strong interest in expanding this to other institutions. There are at least 60 accredited institutions in Indiana alone, and we believe there are numerous opportunities to work with many of them, and with colleges outside Indiana, to benefit their students also.”
Grace College and Purdue Online say they’ve created a novel consortium agreement that is used as a basis for the partnership and could be used for similar partnerships in the future.
The partners say they are exploring other opportunities involving expanded bachelor’s course options for Grace students, professional certificates and graduate course offerings.
“It is a privilege to partner with a world-class institution such as Purdue to provide our students with new educational opportunities,” said Grace College President Bill Katip. “Grace is known to be an institution with innovative offerings; one-third of our students graduate with a bachelor’s degree in three years, and many students pursue blended bachelor’s and master’s degrees on campus in a total of four years. We are always looking for new ways to expand our learning opportunities and make it possible for all students to enjoy our Christ-centered community dedicated to mentorship.”
Grace College will purchase seats in Purdue courses and select high-performing students to fill those spots. The program will include courses in a variety of disciplines.