Binghamton University has partnered with Broome Community College (BCC) to instate a new program that will allow BCC students to transfer into the School of Management (SOM) after completing an associate’s degree.

On Wednesday, BU President Harvey Stenger met with BCC President Kevin Drumm to sign the articulation agreement, allowing the program, called 2+U, to begin in fall 2021. They were joined on BCC’s campus by multiple contributors of the four-year development process, including Upinder Dhillon, SOM dean and Koffman Scholar at BU, and Gian Roma, chair of business programs at BCC.

“We’re here to celebrate another great collaboration effort with our outstanding university partner, BU, our brother-sister school in our great SUNY system,” Drumm said. “We are already one of the biggest feeders of transfer students to BU, some years the biggest, and this will only strengthen our pathway for, in this case, our business students going from [BCC] to BU.”

For students to be eligible to apply, they must complete the two-year Associate of Science program in business administration within BCC and uphold academic credentials that meet the program’s requirements. Starting fall 2021, the BU 2+U transfer program will begin accepting 25 students each semester and help to smoothly guide them through the transfer process.

“Our transfer admissions team will work closely with these students to ensure that they have completed all the necessary components for their transfer application,” Dhillon wrote in an email. “Once admitted and deposited, new transfer students will get a plethora of information through communications from the Office of Admissions, Office of New Student Programs, Office of Residential Life as well as Transfer Student Services.”

According to Roma, the program will help to propel student enrollment within BCC and give the opportunity for students within a two-year community college to graduate with a highly ranked, four-year bachelor’s degree.

“You know [BCC] is open enrollment,” Roma said. “Anyone can come here, and now we have a world class transfer pathway to the Rolls-Royce of the business world. That’s a great deal. Anywhere else you’re not going to get a better value, and, if you can go here and have that same transfer pathway without taking the SAT, it’s almost a no-brainer.”

The conference established that there will be a mutually beneficial relationship between BCC and BU because of the possible opportunities being created for both schools. Dhillon discussed how BCC students are able to utilize a credible and direct transfer program, while BU enjoys the new installment of able students into SOM.

“This agreement provides a more concrete and transparent pathway for students to follow to maximize their transfer potential at [BCC] and take the appropriate coursework that will set them up for success when at [BU],” Dhillon wrote. “This agreement lays a strong foundation for potential BU students that, upon starting at [BU], will be able to continue to build their knowledge and experience within the business sector.”

The program is also beneficial to the overall development of Broome County, according to Stenger.

“Students that will graduate from [BCC] come to [BU] with a great degree in management, finance, marketing, all the fields inside the school and be able to go to work,” Stenger said. “And they’re more likely to stay right here because this is where they grew up. This is their hometown. They’re not looking to go downstate to Wall Street — they really want to make a difference here and those jobs would be created over the next year or two as we go through this economic recovery. So, it’s going to be a great program. I’m looking forward to signing the agreement. I know it’s going to be very successful.”

Chelsea Zou, a sophomore double-majoring in business administration and integrative neuroscience, believes that the new program will open doors and create an easier system for students of all academic backgrounds to succeed within the major.

“This agreement allows opportunity for a variety of students interested in the many branches of business to pursue their professional careers,” Zou said. “Not only does this benefit the students themselves but also eventually diversifies SOM’s alumni networks by inviting students from differing educational backgrounds. Our academic system should be open for students based upon current academic standing and ambitions rather than previous educational institutions.”