NEWARK, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of NJIT and Essex County College. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here.

Associate degree students from Essex County College (ECC) are now able to seamlessly transfer into appropriate and/or corresponding bachelor's degree programs at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). On Sept. 17, 2018, the neighboring institutions in Newark signed a three-year joint academic agreement designed to provide priority transfer into NJIT to qualified students enrolled at ECC. The agreement, effective fall 2018, serves to strengthen the academic and student support partnership between NJIT and ECC. Essex County Schools of Technology (ECST) are also participating in the agreement to benefit high school students.

Under the terms of the agreement, ECC students in good standing (2.5 or higher GPA and meeting program-specific requirements) will be guaranteed admission into NJIT after completing at least 30 college-level academic credits at ECC. Admission also requires that students be enrolled at ECC without interruption longer than a single fall or spring semester; longer interruptions will necessitate reapplication into the Joint Admissions Program. NJIT President Joel S. Bloom said, "This partnership with Essex County College and Essex County Schools of Technology will create additional opportunities for well-prepared Essex students to easily transfer into NJIT programs and will reduce the costs of tuition and fees to students. Our partnerships are very important and this effort will benefit students, families and prospective employers in the greater Essex area."

"What has been central to our NJIT partnership is the ultimate success of our students," said Essex County College President Anthony E. Munroe. "We're proud of the fact that Essex County College sends more engineering technology transfer students to NJIT than any other college or university; that speaks to the overall strength of our partnership. This agreement will allow us to send even more students to NJIT and help ensure a brighter future for our students, as well as the County of Essex and the State of New Jersey." Students interested in the Joint Admissions Program must apply prior to the end of their freshman year at ECC. Those who wish to apply beyond their freshman year may be considered by NJIT on a case-by-case basis. NJIT will waive the application fee for accepted students.

"Our relationship with Essex County College is truly special and this agreement reaffirms our intent to work even closer. In particular, it underscores a continuing effort to create a viable, high-quality education pathway for the students and citizens of Essex County." said Fadi P. Deek, NJIT provost and senior executive vice president. "We are also excited to be partnering with Essex County Schools of Technology with this agreement, which will provide us with an opportunity to reach high school students who aspire to go to college."

Indeed, in an effort to support the pre-college student pathway to higher education, the agreement allows eligible students from ECST — Essex County Newark Tech, Essex County West Caldwell Tech and Essex County Donald M. Payne Sr. Tech — to be part of the Joint Admissions Program. ECST juniors and seniors with a minimum 3.2 high school GPA on a 4.0 scale can apply to the program by submitting an official transcript and application to ECC; the ECC and NJIT Admissions Offices will issue joint letters of acceptance.

"I can think of no better way than to have the county school system, the county college and NJIT working together to guide our students through this pipeline of high school, county college and then a premier engineering school," said James Pedersen, ECST superintendent. "This is a fantastic win for all of us and I look forward to more great things for our students." Don't forget to visit the Patch Newark Facebook page here. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com