Become a Road-Running Beaver: Take advantage of the Degree Partnership Program between LBCC and OSU

You don’t have to wait until you get an associate’s degree to take classes at OSU.

The Degree Partnership Program (DPP; often referred to as dual enrollment) between LBCC and OSU allows students to take classes at both campuses while combining credits for financial aid.

“I chose the DPP program because it was an economical alternative to transferring and going to OSU full time,” said DPP student Aaron Hiddleson. “I had run out of financial aid at LBCC but wanted to continue my education and learned that if I transferred to OSU, I could still get financial aid while attending classes at both institutions.”

Another important benefit is access to OSU advisors, who can direct students to the courses at LBCC that will transfer into their major at OSU.

The list goes on. LBCC transcripts are automatically submitted to OSU at the end of each term, and dual enrolled students can live in the dorm at OSU, participate in the campus dining plan, and utilize services such as the library and computer labs.

OSU’s Associate Director of Enrollment Management Rick DeBellis points out that students may want to dual enroll to have more class choices, which helps them stay on track to graduate.

“If two classes that a student needs are offered at the same time at OSU, they might be able to find one class at LBCC at a different time,” DeBellis said.

After receiving an Associate in Accounting Technology from LBCC and transferring to OSU last fall, Hiddleson spent the year taking classes at both institutions to make up the ground between his degrees at LBCC and the baccalaureate core (general education) requirements to get into OSU’s College of Business professional school in Accountancy.

“I have built rapport with many of the business instructors at LBCC and being able to continue to take classes from them was an advantage for me,” Hiddleson said. “I was familiar with their teaching styles, their personalities and student expectations. Also, I had a desire to keep in contact with them because they are a great resource to be able to tap into.”

A little known benefit is if you are in your final term at OSU and are taking classes at LBCC to complete degree requirements, only DPP enrolled students can get their diploma at graduation, according to DeBellis. Otherwise, students will need to wait until the LBCC transcript is received at OSU and the degree processed, which could take six or more weeks after graduation.

“As of summer 2016, 14,497 students that graduated from OSU had used the DPP at some point,” DeBellis said.

Who can help?

The DPP has an office in MKH 111 staffed by Christine Acker, DPP specialist. Acker can answer general questions, discuss requirements and help with the application process.

“Students can drop in at any time to ask me questions. They don’t need an appointment,” said Acker.

Hiddleson often asked Acker when he had questions about DPP.

“She was my go-to person for researching the program,” Hiddleson said. “I can remember coming to her with questions that she couldn’t answer off the top of her head so she picked up the phone and called her contact at OSU and got the answer for me while I stood there.”

DeBellis is the OSU contact. He holds appointment times on Wednesdays and Fridays fall term in Acker’s office.

Advisors from OSU also come to Acker’s office to talk with students. Forestry, education and business advisors and a representative from OSU financial aid have held office hours this fall term.   

Karla Rockhold, head academic advisor and recruitment specialist for OSU’s College of Education comes every term to meet with students considering becoming a teacher through one of OSU’s teacher licensure programs.

“Students always want to know which classes they can take at LBCC that meet their primary major, baccalaureate core, and education major requirements,” Rockhold said. “Also they want to know how to sign up for classes, which classes are offered at the Benton Center in Corvallis, and which terms classes will be offered.”

Rockhold’s advice to students is to utilize the OSU advising appointments at LBCC each term.

“Meeting with OSU advisors early and often will help you be more successful when transferring to OSU and save you lots of money and time by taking the correct courses for your major,” Rockhold said.

Financial Aid

Students must choose a home school when they sign up for the DPP. The home school is the one through which financial aid will be processed.

LBCC can only pay for 100 and 200 level courses while OSU can pay for 100, 200, 300 and 400 level courses. This means that if you are ready to take 300 and 400 level courses you will want to choose OSU as your home school.

“Think about where you are in your education,” said Elaine Robinson, LBCC’s director for the Financial Aid and Veterans Affairs office. “If you are just beginning, declare LBCC because it is cheaper.”

Robinson advises students to include both OSU and LBCC when filling out the FAFSA even if you are not sure you will enroll in the DPP.”

The process for paying tuition bills is not automated. Robinson explains that the home school’s financial aid office finds out how many courses you are taking at both schools, but pays only to the home school. The home school issues a refund for the remaining credits which the student uses to pay the other school.

“There’s a really good video on the DPP website that explains this,” Robinson said.  

Application

The application process to OSU through the DPP is the same as if you were applying to OSU by itself.

“There is one application that you can access from either website,” Acker said. “You should apply as soon as you are eligible. There are no drawbacks. It opens doors.”

Students that have taken 36 credit hours or more at a community college must have passed WR121 English Composition and either MTH 105 Introduction to Contemporary Mathematics or MTH 111 College Algebra with a C- or better to be admitted at OSU, according to DeBellis.

Students have 10 terms from when they are accepted to take classes at OSU before they would need to reapply. During this time they are still considered active at OSU.

The winter 2017 DPP application deadline is December 12.

Don’t know what major to declare?

Students who don’t know what major to declare or don’t think OSU has an equivalent to their LBCC major can get help at LBCC’s Advising Center or in the LBCC DPP office.

“Undecided students who are part of the DPP can also enroll in the University Exploratory Studies Program (UESP) at OSU. They can hone in on their interests and go from there,” Acker said.

Although it is best to consult with an advisor about whether a course will transfer into a specific degree program at OSU, students can look at the course equivalency page on the OSU website.

“This helps students determine which classes at LBCC are equivalent to those at OSU,” Rockhold said. “Some of the courses have different course indicators or numbers than those at OSU, but they are still equivalent. An example is HDFS 311 at OSU is HDFS 225 at LBCC. Some of these equivalent course have different credit values, too.”

Students that plan to go to a university other than OSU should look at the transfer pages of those universities for details.

“I hope students know that the (DPP) program is a great way to save money completing baccalaureate core courses and lower-division courses for their major at OSU,” Rockhold said.

Story by Danielle Jarkowsky