Access to a University educational experience soon will reach beyond the borders of the Lawn thanks to a new partnership between the University and Tidewater Community College beginning in fall 2004.
The University plans to extend its Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies program to Tidewater by sending traveling University faculty to the Tidewater region to teach courses equivalent to those offered at the University.
"We're hoping to bring the quality of a University degree to TCC," said Becky Marshall, program assistant at the School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
The program currently offers classes at night to Charlottesville residents, awarding degrees to adults who wish to receive a bachelor's degree, according to Marshall.
University interdisciplinary studies programs will benefit TCC students, said Terry L. Jones, associate vice president for college transfer education at TCC.
"The partnership is a great benefit for our graduates, who cannot afford to move to Charlottesville but can have access to a U.Va. degree without leaving the area," Jones said.
University faculty will interact with Tidewater students as professors and as advisors.
The interdisciplinary studies program "will bring a feel of our campus, which will be an interesting task to complete," Marshall said. "Thomas Jefferson believed in higher education, and his studies that lasted well into his 70s and 80s reflect that."
The types of concentrations available to Tidewater students are not yet determined because officials currently are meeting to discuss which areas are most viable.
Marshall said many Tidewater students show interest in the program, but an exact number of enrolled students are not yet available.
University President John T. Casteen said the University created this partnership because of successful interdisciplinary studies programs in Charlottesville and the demand for such programs in other parts of the Commonwealth.
"As the major state university, we have service obligations that stretch well beyond the Grounds," Casteen said. "Tidewater is one of several regions from which we have heard requests over the years for the kind of limited-enrollment, adult-learner, focused program that TCC needed to meet its local demands."
The partnership is one of many between senior colleges and community colleges, such as Old Dominion University and Northern Virginia Community College.
Casteen said the partnership will not burden the Commonwealth with heavy costs.
"The U.Va./TCC program is self-supporting, and does not cost the state money -- although obviously we will take all of the money the state may want to give out and be glad to have it," he said.
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