The presidents of Southwest Tennessee Community College (SWTCC) and HBCU Lemoyne-Owen College (LOC), Dr. Tracey D. Hall and Dr. Christopher B. Davis, recently confirmed a dedicated drive to give more students a chance to earn a four-year degree. Cemented with a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony at SWTCC’s Macon Cove campus Thursday, Jan. 23, the partnership was created to help students decipher the maze some face when entering college; and perhaps more importantly, strengthen their ability to earn a four-year degree at Lemoyne if they choose, essentially creating a streamlined dual-degree process for those choosing to opt-in.
The first steps to full activation began Thursday, Feb. 6, at LOC, and the program will be fully up and running at the start of SWTCC’s Fall 2025 semester (registration begins in April). Southwest students who complete an associate degree in arts, science, or a Transfer Pathway with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher are guaranteed junior-level admission at LOC. Dual enrollment students who earn an associate degree are also eligible. LOC will accept up to 60 credits, including general education, electives, and major requirements, provided the grades are “C” or higher. Students with 30 transferable credits but without an associate degree can also qualify if they meet the requirements.
Transfer students can receive scholarships ranging from $1,500 to $3,000, with further financial aid available through programs like Tennessee Reconnect, Tennessee Hope, and Tennessee Promise. These scholarships aim to reduce financial barriers for Southwest graduates and are available to students with an associate degree.
SWTCC’s press release credits the college’s Business and Legal Studies Department head, Derrick Wheatley, with much of the heavy lifting to structure the process. He is an alum of both Southwest and LOC, where he spent the first years of his learning trying to navigate through the systems to accomplish his goals. Wheatley comments, “Students want a clear pathway. This partnership’s engagement speaks volumes to make sure that students have a path to a four-year degree.”
A crucial value the process brings is the experience base of the personnel in the new pipeline. In contrast to the latter part of the 20th century, pursuing any type of higher education has become a frightening consideration for many Americans for many reasons. Exponentially apply that observance when considering the base population SWTCC and LOC serve, and the partnership’s value becomes crystal clear. It’s never been easy, but even in today’s world, brief insights from each college’s president about their own matriculation illustrate why the new partnership could prove to be very valuable.
From Saint Louis, Mo., Dr. Hall recounts what the challenge of those first years taught her. “I was the first in my family to go to college. That’s why I don’t like terms like ‘at risk’ or ‘empower’ to describe students. That denotes that we (the system) have all the power. But what we want them to understand is that they have the power, and we’re here to help them apply it. That’s what we mean by ‘wrap-around’ services. We’re here to help them as much or as little as needed. If you are an educator at any level, it is our responsibility to give them the tools to create opportunities for themselves and their families. Regardless of how you label it, the mission remains the same. Education is a tool for generational uplift.”
Raised in Proctor, Ark., Davis adds, “What’s difficult to believe is that 88 percent of our students at Lemoyne are still first-generation college students. The wonderful thing about it is that because I’m first generation and Dr. Hall is first generation, we have a heightened sensitivity to know that the answers our students are looking for are not just in the books. In these days, it seems there are more barriers to achieving the American Dream. When we dismantle those things, it will increase enrollments at institutions like Lemoyne and Southwest, where we are unapologetic in terms of the type of support we can provide.”
Fear of the current political climate is not a factor, he adds. “Frankly, I’m not overly distressed about what it will mean to our institutions. I think it’s going to strengthen the HBCU brand because there will be fewer students enrolled in predominately white institutions, and they are going to discover that we are a lot stronger than they realized. And with the dismantling of programs, you’re going to have faculty that are going to be displaced also. We need your talent, we need your research to help us strengthen the HBCU brand. Come on home.”
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