Southwestern Michigan College and Western Michigan University have recently established a social work articulation agreement aimed at facilitating the transfer of credits for SMC social work students to a four-year university.

SMC Professor of Social Sciences Christi Young tells us that this formal agreement significantly eases the process for students.

“What an articulation agreement is, is an agreement between a community college and a four-year institution that basically takes any guesswork or confusion out of transfer for the student,” Young says. “It’s a very formal entity that allows the student to transfer these classes seamlessly to that institution.”

With this new agreement, Young says students will no longer need to be concerned about the transferability of their credits, as this arrangement eliminates the uncertainty.

She emphasizes that this is a fantastic opportunity for students who wish to pursue their education while staying close to home, as well as for non-traditional students seeking to earn additional credits.

“And the great thing about this opportunity for our students would be they could take their two-year degree at SMC, transfer it to Western, which is a CSWE-accredited school,” Young says. “This allows a fast track to a master’s program, they were telling us, in ten months.”

This agreement marks a continuation of the long-standing partnership between the two institutions.

WMU has been training social workers since the 1940s and boasts over 600 partnerships for field placements in social work.