For press information, contact Robert Miller, 901-333-4368 or Curt Guenther, 901-678-2843

Beginning this fall, students at Southwest Tennessee Community College can choose, while still enrolled at Southwest, to be admitted to the University of Memphis, for an easier transition from the two-year school to the four-year one.

The Partnership Enrollment Program (PEP) is open to Southwest students who have taken less than 30 credit hours toward their associate’s degree.  Immediately upon earning their two-year degree, with a minimum overall combined GPA of 2.0 (as computed by the University; individual departmental requirements may be higher), they will be eligible to begin classes at the University of Memphis.  No further application with the U of M will be necessary.

The program will benefit students in several ways.  It will enable them to enjoy improved and collaborative academic advising, and to make an easier transition to a four-year university. Further, PEP participants will not be charged an additional application fee when they transition to the U of M after graduation from Southwest.

Operation of the program will be shared between the two schools.  They will jointly oversee such responsibilities as academic advising, decisions regarding class content, and coordinating participants’ transfer process.

U of M President Shirley Raines and Southwest President Nathan Essex sign the Partnership Enrollment Program agreement.

More information is available from Southwest Tennessee Community College at 901-333-5924 or from the University of Memphis at 901-678-2111, or online at www.memphis.edu/pep