May 26, 2005 – Shirley Luna

Kilgore College and SFA strengthen educational relationships

An agreement signed Thursday by the presidents of Kilgore College and Stephen F. Austin State University will ensure that students are able to transfer easily from Kilgore to SFA.

Dr. Tito Guerrero III, SFA president, and Dr. Bill Holda, KC president, signed an articulation agreement to formalize the relationship between the two institutions. The agreement includes terms for transfer planning and course equivalency guides, coordination for financial aid opportunities, course and schedule coordination, and shared databases for recruiting efforts.

Transfer planning guides and equivalency guides are available on the SFA Web site to assist students in choosing course work.

"This will help in a seamless transition for students who attend KC and want to matriculate to SFA," said Dr. Gerald Stanglin, Kilgore vice president of instruction. "The agreement is also beneficial for students who need to prepare themselves to attend SFA and are eligible to attend Kilgore College."

Stanglin expressed interest in increasing distance-learning opportunities for Kilgore students, especially those that might be beneficial to students pursuing an Associate of Arts in Teaching. SFA has offered a course for education majors to students on the Kilgore campus via interactive video for the past two years, and offers transfer scholarships of up to $2,000 annually to Kilgore students who meet academic criteria.

KC students who earn the Associate of Arts in Teaching now are assured of a smooth transition into SFA's Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies' early childhood through fourth-grade program.

"They shouldn't lose a single hour," said Dr. Melanie Jephson, associate dean of the SFA College of Education. SFA now accepts all 66 associate degree hours, including two new education courses offered by Kilgore College.

"The relationship we've enjoyed with Kilgore College has been longstanding," Guerrero said. "Your students have populated many areas of our campus and we would like to think that SFA has played a role in populating some areas of your college. Today is an opportunity to celebrate that success."

Holda referred to the long relationship when he referenced a 1968 self study conducted by Kilgore College that warned of being too "provincial" in building a faculty.

"The majority of our faculty members had associate degrees from Kilgore College and bachelor's and master's degrees from SFA," Holda explained. "And that's still the case today. The majority of our faculty members come to Kilgore, go to SFA, then come back to Kilgore. That's just the history of our institutions, and it's a history that we are proud of. We've increased the opportunities for our students, and we will continue to work to dig out, form and create new opportunities for that will increase their chances for success."

In addition to distance education opportunities, some opportunities that representatives from both institutions are discussing are possibilities for a permanent SFA presence on the Kilgore campus or a Kilgore/SFA presence in the Henderson area.