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Great things happen when purposeful organizations collaborate. Officials from ������ and New Castle Schools of Trades recently signed an articulation agreement that provides opportunities for graduates of the trade school to earn degrees from the university.

According to the agreement, a student who earns a diploma from New Castle Schools of Trades (with at least 1,000 clock hours in a specific program) can enroll at Kent State and receive 30 credit hours toward an Associate of Technical Study degree.

The Associate of Technical Study degree requires 60 credit hours and is open to students who need a specially designed course of study in a technical field. Many of the credits earned in the Associate of Technical Study degree program can later be applied toward the Bachelor of Technical and Applied Studies degree at Kent State.

David Dees, Ph.D., dean of the Kent State Columbiana County campuses, and Rex Spaulding, president of New Castle Schools of Trades, worked to put the pieces of the agreement together, knowing that the ultimate benefactors will be the students from each organization.

“This relationship is a perfect example of how great partners, working together, can create the right educational pathway to help individuals find their purpose in life,” Dean Dees says. “Finding purpose represents the best of both institutions.”

“It’s a perfect fit for the trades we teach and the business instruction that Kent State offers,” Mr. Spaulding says. “This is the element that has been missing for our students. We look forward to this being a great, long-term partnership.”

The Associate of Technical Study degree is offered at five Kent State campuses: ������ at Ashtabula, ������ at East Liverpool, ������ at Salem, ������ at Trumbull and ������ at Tuscarawas.