Larry Pogemiller, commissioner of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (left), Becky Roloff, St. Kate's president (center) and Rassoul Dastmozd, St. Paul College president (right). Photo: Rebecca Slater, By Rebecca Studios.
On Wednesday, December 13, St. Catherine University officially kicked off St. Kate’s Complete, a partnership with Minneapolis Community & Technical College (MCTC) and St. Paul College. The program provides new pathways for women and men at two-year colleges to move on to bachelor’s degree completion.
“St. Kate’s has always had a mission to educate women to lead and influence,” explained President Becky Roloff. “St. Kate’s Complete is an extension of our mission. The University has always valued making a college education a reality for the widest population possible. We empower our students with skills and knowledge to leave campus prepared to improve their own lives and make a difference in the communities where they live and work.”
Through St. Kate’s Complete, the University is reaching out to students where they are — at schools like MCTC and St. Paul College — and offering a smooth transition to St. Kate’s for bachelor’s degree completion. Both the College for Women and the College for Adults are involved in the St. Kate’s Complete program, giving both women and men a chance to earn a bachelor’s degree at St. Kate’s.
St. Kate's President Becky Roloff and MCTC President Sharon Pierce sign partnership agreements. Photo: By Rebecca Studios
St. Kate’s is the first nonprofit university in Minnesota to offer a seamless and transparent transfer program with guaranteed admission that fully accepts the Associate of Arts, the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum, and has developed pathways from Associate of Science and Associate of Applied Science degrees into bachelor degrees in such fields as nursing, business, social work and public health, with more to come in the coming months.
The program offers students a variety of support, not only to navigate the transfer process, but throughout their college careers. St. Kate’s has tutoring and academic support, financial aid counseling, and career counseling available to transfer students.
“Saint Paul College is extremely proud and honored to forge this new partnership with St. Catherine University, allowing more students to seamlessly transfer and have access to affordable four-year degrees," said Rassoul Dastmozd, president of Saint Paul College. "When higher education institutions come together to provide more opportunities to our students, we make our community stronger.”
With a vision to be respected globally for educating women who transform the world, the University looks to expand the St. Kate’s Complete program to include additional two-year colleges in the future.