Students will soon be able to receive a bachelor’s degree from Alcorn State University without ever leaving Vicksburg.

Starting in the fall 2017 semester, students who have already obtained an associates degree will be able to finish their last two years toward a bachelor’s in business administration, sports management, recreation, criminal justice or psychology at Alcorn’s Vicksburg Extension center.

“The idea is for us to partner with Hinds Community College, and as their academic majors receive their associate degrees, they can come here and finish the bachelor’s degree in two years,” Dr. Robert Carr, the dean of the Vicksburg Extension Center, said. “They will have their associate’s from Hinds and their bachelor’s from Alcorn without having to leave Vicksburg.”

The easy transition from Hinds to Alcorn is designed to benefit the students as well as the community by providing a viable opportunity to receive a four-year degree without having to move or commute.

“It cuts down on living expense, transportation expenses, meals, also it gives them the opportunity to pursue gainful employment right here locally and be able to continue to grow in the community,” Marvin Moak, the Dean of the Hinds Vicksburg-Warren Campus, said. “I don’t see anything, but a positive result from students getting their four-year degree right here locally.”

Students interested in pursuing a degree in Vicksburg will have to apply to Alcorn State, and once admitted can select the courses in Vicksburg when registering for classes.

“They will be regular students just like any other Alcorn student,” Carr said. “All their services will be here in Vicksburg so they won’t have to go to the main campus.”

Carr said that the faculty will be a mix of current Alcorn professors, Hinds professors and adjunct professors hired from the local community.

“We would like to start with a majority face-to-face [classes],” Carr said. “We will have some that are hybrid where you may come in certain dates and then finish the rest of them online, and a very few of them to start off will be fully online.”

Alcorn is currently offering three classes at the extension center this semester. In the fall that will increase to 25 classes as the five degree programs are added.

The idea behind the expansion is to fully utilize the available resources at the extension center while providing additional benefits to the Vicksburg community.

“I would like for students to go to the Vicksburg Warren School District, then go to Hinds to get those first two years and then come straight to Alcorn so we are all working together,” Carr said.

“You can’t see it now, but I can see it. This space is too small. To have everything we need, this space is too small. The only way I can prove that to the upper administration at Alcorn is to bring in classes and fill them up. I intend to do that.”

The tuition for classes at the Vicksburg campus will be the same as at the main campus. Students in Vicksburg will also have access to the resources and activities at the main campus such as sporting events.

“When we did our needs assessment a few years ago, one of the main things we heard was we would like to come to Alcorn, but we don’t want to drive to the main campus,” Carr said. “We know that there is a need here. We just need to fill the need.”

The goal for the fall semester is to have 150 students enrolled in classes at the Vicksburg Extension Center, but Carr said with creative scheduling they could accommodate up to 500.