OTC to sign online transfer agreements with Mizzou

Ozarks Technical Community College and University of Missouri officials are scheduled to sign three new transfer agreements between the schools tomorrow.

The agreements - for general studies, health sciences and nursing - will allow OTC students to complete the first two years of their bachelor's degrees at the community college and finish them at Mizzou via its online program, said Witt Salley, college director of OTC Online.

"One of our goals is to increase partnerships with four-year institutions that have strong online programs," he said. "We have a burgeoning online program."

The Mizzou transfer agreements mark the first online partnership between OTC and a Missouri university, Salley said, noting OTC would welcome online agreements with other Missouri universities as it expands its Internet offerings.

OTC, which signed its first online agreement in November with University of Maryland University College, also has online articulation agreements with National American University, University of Illinois and Western Governor's University, according to its Web site.

OTC started its spring semester with 1,887 students taking classes online, a 34 percent increase compared to spring 2010, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

OTC Chancellor Hal Higdon and University of Missouri Provost Brian Foster, along with other school officials, will sign the agreements tomorrow at 10 a.m. at OTC's Springfield campus.[[In-content Ad]]