Southwestern Oregon Community College (SWOCC) is pleased to announce a new cooperative agreement between the College and the Oregon State University (OSU) School of Forestry. A ceremony to mark the first-ever such agreement between OSU Forestry and a community college is scheduled at 4 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 21, in Tioga 505 at SWOCC, 1988 Newmark Ave., Coos Bay. SWOCC and OSU have developed a direct articulation agreement between the new Associate of Science degree with Forestry emphasis program at SWOCC and the Bachelor of Science degree in the Professional Forestry program at OSU. This articulation agreement allows SWOCC students completing the two-year Associate of Science degree with a Forestry emphasis to transfer directly course-by-course to OSU’s Professional Forestry program with full junior status. Dr. Claire Montgomery, Professor and Interim Department Head, OSU Department of Forest Engineering, Resources, and Management; and Dr. Thomas Maness, Cheryl Ramberg-Ford and Allyn C. Ford Dean, College of Forestry, will attend the forestry articulation agreement signing from OSU. Dr. Ross Tomlin, Vice President of Instruction and Student Services and Diana Schab, Dean of Career Technical Programs, will sign the articulation agreement for SWOCC. SWOCC will be offering the new Forestry program beginning this fall. Registration for fall classes is under way, with class beginning September 29. Private donors and natural resources industry-related companies are assisting with two years of start-up funding through the SWOCC Foundation for the program, which is targeted to enroll 20 students annually. Following two years of program development, the college will be able to sustainably fund the program through tuition, fees and state reimbursement on a full-time equivalent basis.
