Mississippi State University and Louisiana Delta Community College signed a memorandum of understanding Friday that paves the way for LDCC students enrolled in technical education programs to join MSU’s Bachelor of Applied Science program.

Under the agreement, the two institutions of higher learning will work together on numerous initiatives streamlining the pathways between LDCC and MSU, including identifying LDCC classes that will count toward the bachelor’s degree, reverse-transfer credit options, resource-sharing opportunities and other inclusion efforts.

“Our mission is to remove barriers for students. When we do that, it means they have somewhere to go beyond those barriers. We’re excited Mississippi State is ‘the beyond’ and can be the next step for our students,” said LDCC Chancellor Randall Esters.

“This is a great example of the kind of partnership we envisioned from the very beginning of this program—one that takes students outside of traditional educational pathways and creates opportunities for them to be extraordinarily successful in life,” added MSU Provost and Executive Vice President David Shaw. “We see Louisiana Delta as a great example of a very successful community college system that we want to be partnered with so that we can continue creating those opportunities.”

MSU launched its BAS program in 2019, significantly expanding the university’s acceptance of technical credit from community colleges and military training. It is intended to serve the needs of adults who have completed a technical associate degree program through a community college or the military and need additional education to advance their careers.

Similar agreements have been signed with many community colleges across the state—Copiah-Lincoln Community College, East Central Community College, East Mississippi Community College, Hinds Community College, Holmes Community College, Itawamba Community College, Jones College, Meridian Community College, Mississippi Delta Community College, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Northeast Community College, Northwest Community College, Pearl River Community College and Southwest Community College—and other out-of-state partners, including Bishop State Community College in Mobile, Alabama.

For more on the Bachelor of Applied Science program, visit www.msstate.edu/bas.

LDCC is available online at https://www.ladelta.edu.