On Thursday, Sept. 7, Waynesburg University signed an articulation agreement with A.W. Beattie Career Center, agreeing that students from A.W. Beattie can now transfer six credits to the university. For the time being, the credits can only go toward the education department, but a relationship between the schools will lead to the possible addition of more courses.

Shari Payne, vice president of Student Enrollment, has seen these kinds of agreements before and was able to easily make the transition.

“Usually these agreements are between two higher education’s intuitions, a community college and a four-year school,” said Payne. “This agreement is between a university and a school that houses mostly high school students.

The university began the process by looking into classrooms to examine what kind of materials the students were learning. According to Payne, they were “college level materials,” so under the guidance of the Education Department, they continued on towards an agreement.

A.W. Beattie has students all over the Pittsburgh area. The school has many different education options from cosmetology to teaching.

The two schools were introduced to one another because of two students who attended A.W. Beattie, whose advisor reached out to Waynesburg.

Payne credits a lot of the success of the agreement to Chairperson of the Education Department Yvonne Weaver.

Payne said when the two schools sat down to discuss possibilities, materials such as curriculum guides and testing requirements were shared to figure out how the two programs could coexist for six credits.

Waynesburg soon felt comfortable with the classes and were able to set a suitable standard.

“Students, to receive the credits, have to hold a 3.0 G.P.A. and pass the NOCTI test, which can be compared to the AP test, and if they are able to do that, they receive the credits,” said Payne.

Provost Dr. Dana Baer felt excited by the opportunity of the two schools coming together and what it will mean for Waynesburg University.

“This is an opportunity for the university to partner with A.W. Beattie to help do two things; to help educate students who are going to address community needs and to build a relationship between Waynesburg University and outside parkers,” said Baer.

Both Payne and Baer said this is just one of the many opportunities the university continues to become involved in.

“We are always exploring different opportunities and areas,” said Baer. “It’s an ongoing dialog with many different programs.”

Payne said the university will continue looking for opportunities to better the school, especially with A.W. Beattie.