Officials say students can save $75,000 by completing 75 percent of credits at RCBC before attending Rowan University for senior year.
Rowan College at Burlington County’s inaugural “3+1 Day” was held on March 1 to celebrated the college’s “3+1 program,” through which college officials say students can save about $75,000 while completing an RCBC associate degree and Rowan University bachelor’s degree.
According to the college, students in the program canccomplete 75 percent of their baccalaureate credits at RCBC’s lower tuition rate before completing their senior year with Rowan University.
On March 1, 3+1 students, RCBC employees and the RCBC community gathered in the college’s new Student Success Center to celebrate 3+1 Day with a cake courtesy of RCBC’s Culinary Arts program. Burlington County Freeholder Deputy Director Linda Hughes and RCBC Acting President Michael Cioce led the affair on what college officials say is to become an annual celebration of 3+1.
“As Freeholder liaison to Rowan College at Burlington County, and a former RCBC trustee, I was proud to designate March 1 as 3+1 Day in recognition of our innovative program that promotes college accessibility and affordability,” Hughes said. “The 3+1 program is putting higher education within the reach of thousands of Burlington County residents by allowing students to earn a high-quality, four-year degree for under $30,000; far less than what many colleges charge for a single year.”
According to college officials, RCBC was the first community college in this region of the country to offer junior-year courses. Now, about a year later, officials say there are 700 students committed to the 3+1 program, which means nearly one out of ten students is in a 3+1 program. The program currently includes nursing, biology, criminal justice, psychology, liberal studies, and computing and informatics.
“3+1 Day celebrated the outstanding success of a program that means more to the community than just an affordable degree — it is a window of opportunity in an otherwise inaccessible future,” Cioce said. “Thanks to our partnership with Rowan University, one of the top public research institutions in the country, we were able to create paths to bachelor’s degrees that cost about $25,000, or less than what most universities charge for a single year. 3+1 has been an enormous factor in our three consecutive semesters of enrollment growth.”
Since RCBC offered the first junior-year course in January 2017, officials say the college has achieved three consecutive semesters of enrollment growth — including 3 percent last spring, 5 percent in the fall and another 3 percent this spring.
Students interested in RCBC’s 3+1 program are invited to a 3+1 Information Session at the Mt. Laurel Campus on Thursday, March 8 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Laurel Hall, room 306.
Prospective RCBC and their families are encouraged to attend the RCBC Mt. Laurel Campus Open House, where they can meet with faculty, discuss financial aid options, learn about academic offerings and student life, and much more, on Saturday, March 10 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For more information on RCBC’s 3+1 program, visit rcbc.edu/3plus1.
