Courtney Parks and Megan Bandi, two junior biology majors with a focus in marine biology, have an opportunity to enhance their education next year. Parks and Bandi will be moving to Conway, South Carolina in August as part of Waynesburg University’s new consortium agreement with Coastal Carolina University for marine biology students.
“It will be hands-on instead of being in a classroom,” Bandi said. “It is one thing to sit in a classroom and have them tell you how to do things; it’s a completely different thing to actually go out there and learn for yourself.”
Located near Myrtle Beach, CCU offers students the ability to study marine life more in depth than in a laboratory.
Dr. Christopher Cink, chairperson for the Biology, Environmental Science and Athletic Training Department, believes CCU will provide a positive learning opportunity for marine biology students.
“Coastal Carolina University has the largest Marine Science program on the East Coast, so it’s well known,” Cink said. “They offer a variety of interesting and challenging courses.”
The agreement with CCU establishes a program in which students will remain Waynesburg University students all four years but will complete their fourth year studies at CCU. It will take the place of a prior agreement with the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) that expires after this year.
“It wasn’t easy to decide which institution might be the best fit for our students,” Cink said. “Once that decision was made, there was a fair amount of work involved for faculty and administrators at both schools to work out all of the details.”
Cink credits Dr. Wayne Rossiter, assistant professor of biology, for his work establishing this agreement and for the marine biology program.
A major difference between the agreement with UNCW and CCU is that students will now be guaranteed on-campus housing and enrollment in their desired courses.
With students guaranteed on campus housing, they will not need to rent space to live, giving them more time to focus on their studies.
“We won’t have to focus on working, paying rent and paying bills,” Bandi said. “We can focus more on our classes, because we will be taking all science courses.”
The cost of CCU is also more affordable than both UNCW and FIT, with students able to keep their current financial aid, as they will remain Waynesburg University students.
“I would definitely encourage other students to think about CCU,” Parks said. “It is similar to Waynesburg’s cost and could be an easier transition.”
Rossiter believes this is a marketable offer that betters the Marine Biology program.
“Who wouldn’t want to spend their senior year at Myrtle Beach?” Rossiter said. “Going to a nice institution with a lot of options and a lot of good people. We are really excited about it.”