EOU Offers Bachelor's Degree through UCC

By Kingsley Hubbell · The Mainstream
Published May 15, 2012

Crossing the bridge from UCC to a successful bachelor's degree or a career can sometimes be done with local options. These options are helpful for students who don't necessarily want to re-locate or can't move away.

Eastern Oregon University is a possibility that may be worth looking into. The EOU distance education program offers students a chance of being taught by an EOU instructor without leaving the UCC campus. EOU adviser Kerrie Wylam has an office conveniently located in the UCC student center where she is readily available for students who are interested in transferring. She gives students a personal face to talk to when they need something so they don’t have to rely solely on emails or phone calls for communication.

Wylam also advises students by helping them develop their academic plan and provides career guidance.  She helps students develop resumes if they need assistance and also has students come in for proctored exams. Wylam says that the students trust her, not only coming back for help but also referring others to her. “Students appreciate the personal attention.  I regularly get emails and telephone calls from former students to keep me up-to-date on their successes,” said Wylam.

UCC is not the only location where EOU support staff are located. “We have regional centers located throughout the state on most of the community college campuses,” said Wylam.

EOU has advisers at UCC and many other institutions to give transferring students more hands-on help. “Students have the freedom and flexibility to do an online program, but they have a personal connection of contact with someone that will help through any hurdles they might encounter along the way,” said Wylam.

Wylam has had a longstanding connection with both EOU and UCC. She grew up in La Grande, where EOU is located, and attended high school there and graduated from Eastern Oregon University herself. She was a high school teacher for eight years. Then she moved to Roseburg where her first office was at Snyder Hall when she worked for UCC for almost 10 years in many areas such as with cooperative work experience, College Now, the high school dual credit program and the occupation skills training program. She was also the Carl Perkins grant manager and, for the last couple years of her employment with UCC, she was an academic development program coordinator. Her UCC experience provided her with firsthand knowledge about the culture and climate at UCC.

“I was a staff member; I knew everyone at UCC because I worked with them for many years, so I had a long standing relationship with them,” said Wylam.

Wylam says that she is always more than eager to show UCC students the transfer opportunities available with EOU online degrees. Some degree options include Anthropology/Sociology; Business Administration; Business Economics; English/Writing Literature/Film emphasis; Fire Services Administration; History; Liberal Studies; Philosophy, Politics & Economics; Physical Activity & Health; Public Administration; and Psychology.

Many EOU online instructors teach both online and on the UCC campus. The past few years Wylam has hosted a fall and spring on-site weekend college at UCC where students go to class from 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday night and from 9 to 5 p.m. on Saturday and earn two upper division credits. She hopes to continue offering on-site classes at UCC.

Wylam held a communication class at UCC last fall. This fall, Intercultural Communication, will be offered here at UCC through EOU on October 19 and 20. Students will need to register early, according to Wylam, because the class will fill up fast. All the weekend classes that Wylam has brought have always received full enrollment

 The courses Wylam brings are typically upper division classes, and they have been communication classes in the past. The upper division courses “Are You Listening,” “Communication at the End of Life” and “Intercultural Communication” are classes that were held here last year. The reason she has selected and rallied to get those types of classes here is that the students in the OHSU nursing program are required to complete 15 credits of upper division course work as part of their bachelor’s degree, and so they look to Wylam to help them on the weekend because of busy schedules during the week in hospitals. “It really helps out those nursing students,” said Wylam.

With the cost of EOU online courses at $153 a class, money is available to help take a bite out of the cash crunch. EOU offers what’s called a transfer scholarship – any degree seeking student can apply for an EOU transfer scholarship. Nearly all students with at least a 3.0 GPA get a small scholarship if they are working toward an EOU degree. The higher the student’s GPA, the more money they are rewarded. Students who have a 3.0 may get $600 a year which will help buy books or pay for other school expenses. This is a university specific grant (scholarship) from EOU on top of Oregon Opportunity and Pell grants.