LEWISTON, Idaho – Lewis-Clark State College has signed a memorandum of understanding and agreement with College of Eastern Idaho (CEI) for a co-admission and co-enrollment partnership as well as a financial aid consortium agreement, all of which will help students who want to attend both institutions.
CEI is a two-year community college created in 2017 and located in Idaho Falls. It reported an enrollment of 1,810 credit students for fall 2020, an 11 percent increase over fall 2019. LC State saw a 3 percent increase in enrollment this fall.
“Partnering with CEI on co-admission and enrollment will facilitate student awareness, interest and access in moving along the education ladder from CEI associate degree programs to LC State programs; making it easier and potentially more affordable for students to earn a bachelor’s degree,” LC State President Cynthia Pemberton said. “We are excited to be working with CEI to make next level degree pursuit as seamless as possible.”
The admission and enrollment agreement will help CEI students who have completed an associate degree transfer those credits towards a bachelor’s degree at LC State. The agreement helps improve access to comprehensive support services and information as well as expand class options for students. For the institutions, the partnership offers opportunities for more effective and efficient use of faculty, facilities and support services.
“CEI is delighted to partner with LC State to provide an innovative path beyond a two-year associate degree for students to transition to a bachelor’s degree,” stated CEI President Rick Aman. “This agreement will help immensely toward the goal of improving regional high school students to ‘Go On’ within the Idaho system after graduation. During these COVID times, a student could complete an associate degree all online at CEI and then continue with online learning at LC State.”
Students must be admitted to both institutions to be a part of the partnership. Students are encouraged to apply to LC State before starting classes at CEI because those who wait until after earning their associate degree at CEI may have to satisfy additional courses required for a bachelor’s degree at LC State.
The management of the partnership and agreements will be coordinated through the enrollment services offices at the institutions. Each institution will have an advisor to work with students participating in the partnership on degree requirements and course planning. CEI also will provide LC State advising space on its campus for ongoing advisement and recruiting for the program.
The financial aid consortium agreement allows CEI students to enroll in coursework at LC State and have those credits applicable to their overall financial aid eligibility at CEI. The agreement will assist students who are applying for financial aid and are enrolled at both institutions.
The agreements were signed and went into effect earlier this month.
For more information on LC State, visit www.lcsc.edu. For more information on CEI, visit www.cei.edu.