Another new college partnership

On Friday we learned about American Public University's partnership with Walmart. Now, Capella University, which majors in online education for working adults, has entered into an academic partnership with Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Illinois.

Students and alumni of JJC will not only receive seamless transfer into Capella but they'll also get a tuition break for bachelors and graduate programs. JJC’s faculty and staff qualify for the same benefits.

Capella University is a private, for-profit, regionally accredited school. They have about 37,000 students.

JJC, founded in 1901, was the first public community college offering prebaccalaureate programs for students planning to transfer to a four-year college or university. IOW, they have been trend-setters from the beginning. They are the ones who got the community college movement rolling.

This partnership is significant because:

1. It is a public tax-payer funded school / private for-profit school partnership -- unthinkable five years ago.
2. It provides a recognized by-pass of the public and non-profit universities.
3. It reflects the fact that the number of traditional college students (4 years, living in student housing, Greek life, research based schools) are in decline in ratio to the new emerging model that actually honors flexibility.