Celebrating a new aviation education partnership among three local institutions are (l-r) Great Oaks Career Campuses President and CEO Harry Snyder, Antioch University Midwest Provost and CEO Dr. Marian Glancy, Southern State Community College Vice President of Academics Dr. Nicole Roades, and SSCC President Dr. Kevin Boys.

Southern State Community College (SSCC) and Antioch University Midwest (AUM) today announced a new partnership to expand aviation education in the region. This exclusive transfer agreement complements an existing partnership between SSCC and Great Oaks Career Campuses.

What does this mean for students interested in aviation? It means a direct route from an associate degree to a bachelor’s degree to an aviation career.

“This is such an incredible opportunity for our students,” said Amy McClellan, SSCC Coordinator of Academic Partnerships. “It has been a shared vision to be able to show the pathway that connects the associate degree credits and articulates them into a bachelor’s degree for an additional 33 credits. This is also a great opportunity for those who already have the FAA license and wish to complete college degrees.”

Students can start by earning an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in Engineering: Aviation Maintenance through the partnership between Great Oaks and Southern State. Then they can enroll – as early as Fall Semester 2017 – to complete the 33 credits needed for the pathway between degree programs, through the partnership between Southern State and AUM. This final step leads to a bachelor’s degree in Applied Technology & Leadership through AUM’s hybrid program of on-campus and online courses.

“AUM welcomes the opportunity to work with SSCC students completing their AAS in Engineering: Aviation Maintenance to individualize their program of study that best meets their educational and bachelor degree goals,” said Sonya Fultz, AUM Chair of Undergraduate Studies. “The agreement provides clear guides for student success.”

In 2012, Southern State and Great Oaks began collaboratively offering an FAA-certified associate degree in Engineering: Aviation Maintenance, designed as a six-semester track to be completed in two years. Students complete all their coursework in close proximity—SSCC’s North Campus and Laurel Oaks’ Corwin Nixon Aviation Center, both in Wilmington.

“The program originated as a collaboration between Great Oaks Career Campuses, Southern State Community College, and Airborne Maintenance & Engineering Services,” said Harry Snyder, Great Oaks President and CEO. “It’s a great partnership of education and business, and we’re pleased that Antioch University has joined in.”

This marks the second partnership venture between Southern State and Antioch University Midwest. In 2016, the two institutions announced a 3+1 degree pathway option. The agreement allows students to take a total of three years of college at SSCC and one year at AUM to obtain both an associate and bachelor degree in specified majors.

For more information about these local partnerships in aviation education, please contact Amy McClellan at 800-628-7722, ext. 2825, or amcclellan@sscc.edu.