Cottey approved for new 4-year degrees

Nevada Daily Mail

Cottey College in Nevada expects to be offering two additional bachelor-degree programs as early as the fall of 2013, according to information released by the college Thursday.

The college received permission from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools to increase its offerings in social sciences and humanities. Along with that authority, the commission granted the college an additional 10 years of accreditation.

North Central is the college's accrediting agency.

"This is more than good news, this is great news!" said Dr. Judy Rogers, college president. "It's an exciting time at Cottey College. We will have our first graduates in our existing baccalaureate programs this May, and the authority to include additional four-year degree programs can only enhance the College's growth and long-term stability.

"Plus, it gives us the flexibility to offer the majors that are important to today's students," Rogers added. "We look forward to the opportunities and challenges this freedom offers us."

Rogers said the college officials are pleased the Higher Learning Commission granted the college the maximum number of years allowable for reaccreditation and even more excited to be able to increase its offerings to students.

"We cannot wait to begin the new program offerings," the president said. "This notification validates the strength of Cottey's educational program, something those of us who work here knew all along. It is, however, gratifying to hear it from impartial observers."

Officials at the college anticipate the first two new Bachelor of Arts degree programs to be offered will be a degree in business and in liberal arts -- a course of studies covering such programs as fine arts, humanities, mathematics and science, and social science and allows students to choose a focus for their major.

Cottey currently offers a bachelor's degree in international business, which focuses on multinational corporations. The new degree will focus specifically on management.

"We will be able to offer both of these bachelor's degrees beginning with the fall 2013 semester," said Rogers.

Currently, the college offers four-year degrees in English, Environmental Studies, International Relations and Business, and Psychology.

Cottey College, an independent women's college located in Nevada offers two-year and selected four-year degree programs. Its residential student capacity of 350 students typically represents 40 states and 24 countries. Cottey is owned and supported by the P.E.O. Sisterhood, an international women's philanthropic educational organization, making Cottey the only nonsectarian college in the United States owned and supported by women for women.

According to information on its website, the college is designed as a transfer institution with 95 percent of graduates transferring to four-year colleges and universities throughout the United States and abroad, including Smith College, University of Missouri, University of Washington, Pepperdine University, Mount Holyoke College, and others.

Virginia Alice Cottey Stockard founded Cottey College in 1884 with the firm belief that women deserved the same quality education as men, the website states.

When she became a member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, Stockard realized that P.E.O. paralleled her own goals and ideas about higher education for women.

In 1927, the P.E.O. Sisterhood accepted Cottey College as a gift from Stockard. This made Cottey College the only nonsectarian college owned and supported by women. Ever since, the P.E.O. Sisterhood has continued to support and help provide excellent educational opportunities for women.

For more information, contact the Office of Academic Affairs at 417-667-8181, ext. 2128.