The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Chattanooga State Community College have partnered to create a new bachelor's degree program in applied leadership for working adults.
The program guarantees UTC admission to Chattanooga State students who have completed their associate of applied science degree in business, offering a seamless pathway to a four-year degree.
Officials held a ceremony Friday at UTC to sign an agreement creating the partnership.
"We are trying to make it as easy as possible for students to get the education they need to get the career that they seek," UTC Chancellor Steve Angle said. "This online program is designed to be flexible to help adults (and) returning students who want to get a little more in terms of a degree experience so that they can help their company or organization and compete for well-paying jobs."
Launched in fall 2021, and formalized with Friday's ceremony, the program was designed for online instruction so working adults, who can't go to a physical campus during business hours, can take the courses when their schedule allows.
"At Chattanooga State, our purpose is to enable everyone in our community to learn without limits," Chattanooga State President Rebecca Ashford said at the ceremony. "This articulation is a means of removing that limit."
Conceptualized by David Rausch and Beth Crawford, both professors of learning and leadership programs at UTC, the program is one of many ways the university is adapting to an evolving post-secondary education landscape.
"The contemporary learner often has priorities in their life that may keep them from pursuing a more traditional path for their education," Rausch said.
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In an interview after the signing ceremony, Rausch said his military career inspired him to help create the program.
"From my perspective, as a veteran who had a family early after the military, all of my degrees -- bachelor's, master's, doctorate and postdoc -- I had to do while raising a family," he said. "Often that traditional structure makes it very hard for someone who hasn't had the opportunity to go through a traditional program. And so one of the things that have always been important to me -- because that's how I worked through -- was to find a way to eliminate the barriers."
Crawford said there are few opportunities statewide for those with an associate of applied science in business to transition to a four-year program.
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There are 53 students enrolled so far.
"This program was catered just for me," Roshonda Woods, solid waste manager for the city of Chattanooga, said in an interview. She is the first woman and first African American to hold the title. "I'm a mother, I'm a wife and I'm a manager. The classes have really helped me in my current position."
The course aims to provide a real-world leadership education.
"There's a plethora of things that I have actually learned," Woods said. "Something that's simple that we do every day is making a decision. This class, it takes you through what it actually means to make a decision. There's several steps to make a decision. I mean, anybody can make a decision, but you want to make it an effective decision."
Woods expects to graduate in 2024.
Contact Carmen Nesbitt at cnesbitt@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327.