Grand Rapids Community College and Western Michigan University officially established a streamlined pathway from associate’s to bachelor’s degrees on Friday, Oct. 16, signing the “Bronco Bound Guarantee Agreement” during a ceremony at GRCC’s Applied Technology Center.
Under the new partnership, GRCC students who earn an associate’s degree are guaranteed admission to WMU with their application fees waived. In addition, eligible transfer students will be guaranteed an annual scholarship award ranging from $1,000 to $4,500 to help finance their transition to a four-year institution.
Leaders from both schools gathered at GRCC’s Secchia Piazza just ahead of National Transfer Student Week to celebrate.
The agreement aims to remove both financial and administrative hurdles that often complicate transfer pathways between community colleges and universities. The guarantee also offers dedicated transfer advising, clear academic course equivalencies, and early access to WMU campus life and athletic events in Kalamazoo.
“The university and community college space has been separated by distance and paperwork for too long,” said Western President Russ Kavalhuna. “We’re closing both of those gaps by saying if you make it through GRCC, which is a worthy and difficult thing to do, then you’re absolutely welcome at Western Michigan University. In fact, you don’t even have to ask for permission. You should come on over.”
GRCC Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs Sheila Jones highlighted the efficiency of the negotiations, saying, “What stood out to me was that you listened to what we needed without us having to ask. By my account, this partnership took only two meetings, including the first one, which is rather notable in our field.”
GRCC President Kathryn Rogalski emphasized that the partnership provides students with stability and predictability while working toward their bachelor’s degrees.
“When students start here, they know that when they finish at GRCC, that is not the end of their story. That is only the beginning,” Rogalski said. “Partnerships like this allow students to go on, finish their bachelor’s degree at another institution, Western Michigan University, who is promising that students can not only come to them, they can come to them, access a high-quality education with financial support and taking what they’ve earned at GRCC and honoring the work that they’ve done all along the way …and really recognizing the value that a community college-educated student brings to the university. It’s what’s happening today.”
Both Presidents pointed out local business leader Dave Custer as a model for what the partnership can achieve. Custer, founder of Custer Inc., began his education at GRCC before transferring to WMU and becoming a prominent donor to both institutions.
“He found his way to a community college in this town and then found his way to a university and has been utterly successful,” Kavalhuna said of Custer. “That is an American dream that you can replicate.”
Friday’s signing builds a relationship that began with a 2015 articulation agreement. Since then, GRCC and WMU have established 14 program-specific transfer agreements spanning fields including engineering design, child development, recreation and sport management, and technology.
The event concluded with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding by President Rogalski, President Kavalhuna, GRCC Provost Jones, and WMU Provost Christopher Cheatham.
A recording of the event is available here.
