The presidents of Salem State University and Northern Essex Community College have announced an agreement that will allow former Northern Essex students enrolled at Salem State University to retroactively earn their associate’s degrees from Northern Essex when they have earned the required number of credits.

“The beauty of this pilot agreement,” says Salem State University President Patricia Maguire Meservey, “is that students who enroll in a bachelor’s degree program at Salem State before completing all of the requirements for their associate’s degrees may now satisfy the requirements of both while moving forward in the acquisition of their educations.”

Salem State students who transferred from Northern Essex to Salem State with a minimum of 18 credits and an accumulated total of at least 62 credits will be apprised of this opportunity by email and sent an application.

Institutions in Texas, Michigan and elsewhere who have participated in similar reverse transfer programs have seen evidence of both increased retention rates at four-year institutions and higher rates of graduation from community colleges.

“The development of this pilot agreement,” noted Northern Essex Community College President Lane Glenn “involved cooperation from both of our institutions, and represents our desire to raise the number of credentialed workers in the region. It will create a sense of accomplishment for those students participating, while motivating them to continue on toward the completion of the bachelor’s degree.”

On Saturday, May 19 at its annual Commencement, Northern Essex will kick off the new agreement by presenting State Representative Michael Costello (1st Essex District) with an associate degree in liberal arts from Northern Essex. After beginning his college education at Northern Essex, Representative Costello went on to receive a bachelor’s degree from Salem State University cum laude and a law degree with academic honors from Suffolk University Law School. He is earning his associate degree from Northern Essex, based on the courses which he took at Salem State after transferring there.

For more information, contact Nora Sheridan, NECC’s associate vice president of enrollment services, 978 556-3616 or nsheridan@necc.mass.edu. or Scott James, Salem State’s associate vice president enrollment management, 978.542.6243 or sjames@salemstate.edu.