Purdue and Grace College partnership to offer Grace students expanded opportunities, set stage for other partnerships

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Grace College juniors and seniors will have the opportunity beginning in the spring of 2021 to gain additional qualifications to jumpstart their master’s degrees as undergraduates. An innovative partnership between Grace College and Purdue University lays the groundwork for similar partnerships with other colleges.

The goal is to enable Grace students to earn credits online toward a Purdue master’s degree, positioning them to complete their master’s rapidly after graduating from Grace College and to then enter the workforce with two degrees.

Grace College and Purdue Online, the central organization coordinating online offerings from Purdue’s four campuses, have created a novel consortium agreement that is used as a basis for the partnership and could be used for similar partnerships in the future.

“Grace has been a fabulous partner as we have jointly worked toward this novel, innovative agreement designed to directly benefit Grace’s students,” said Gerry McCartney, executive vice president for Purdue Online. “And it enables Purdue to better fulfill its Land-Grant mission.

“We have a strong interest in expanding this to other institutions. There are at least 60 accredited institutions in Indiana alone, and we believe there are numerous opportunities to work with many of them, and with colleges outside Indiana, to benefit their students also.”

Purdue Online will coordinate partnerships involving courses from any of Purdue’s four campuses, including its flagship West Lafayette campus, Purdue’s virtual campus Purdue Global and its regional campuses Purdue Fort Wayne and Purdue Northwest.

The partners are exploring a variety of other opportunities involving expanded bachelor’s course options for Grace students, professional certificates and graduate course offerings.

“It is a privilege to partner with a world-class institution such as Purdue to provide our students with new educational opportunities,” said Grace College President Bill Katip. “Grace is known to be an institution with innovative offerings; one-third of our students graduate with a bachelor’s degree in three years, and many students pursue blended  bachelor’s and master’s degrees on campus in a total of four years. We are always looking for new ways to expand our learning opportunities and make it possible for all students to enjoy our Christ-centered community dedicated to mentorship.”

To start, Grace College will purchase seats in Purdue courses and select high-performing students to fill those spots. The program will include courses in a variety of disciplines.

The students must have already completed prerequisites appropriate to the additional study they will be doing and typically will have a minimum 3.0 grade point average.

Grace undergraduates enrolled in Purdue classes will still be classified as undergraduates and enroll with Purdue as nondegree-seeking students. They will then be able to count the courses toward a Purdue master’s degree once enrolled in a Purdue master’s program.

Purdue University and Grace College have a history of working together. Grace encourages its students to pursue Purdue graduate degrees, and Purdue considers Grace graduates highly regarded candidates for admission to many of its graduate programs.

For more information on the program contact Purdue University Online Partnerships, partnerships-online@purdue.edu.

About Grace College

Grace College is an accredited, Christ-centered institution of higher education located in the historic lakeside town of Winona Lake, Indiana. Affiliated with Charis Fellowship (formerly the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches), Grace College was founded in 1948. Today, Grace offers associate degrees, more than 70 undergraduate degrees in both traditional four-year and accelerated three-year degree formats, a bachelor’s degree completion program and on-campus and online graduate degrees. Grace College also has a ministry training center in Akron, Ohio. For more information, visit www.grace.edu.

About Purdue Online

Purdue Online is the administrative unit charged with driving and coordinating the rapidly growing online offerings of Purdue's four campuses, including its flagship West Lafayette campus, Purdue’s virtual campus Purdue Global and its regional campuses Purdue Fort Wayne and Purdue Northwest. Purdue now has hundreds of online courses aimed at serving all types of students and ranging from undergraduate and graduate degrees to continuing education certification and tailored corporate training. For more information visit online.purdue.edu.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 6 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at purdue.edu.

Media contact: Greg Kline, 765-494-8167, gkline@purdue.edu 

Source: Gerry McCartney, mccart@purdue.edu

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