Staff Reporter

Those attempting a four-year degree and wishing to stay close to their mountain home recently received an early gift this holiday season. The University Center of the Mountains (UCM) announced this week Midway College has joined its collection of available institutions and will offer four accelerated bachelor degree completion programs at the virtual university located on the campus of Hazard Community and Technical College.

“We are very honored and excited to have Midway College join our partnership,” said Ron Daley, director of the UCM. “Midway offers quality degree completion programs now in 20 sites across the Commonwealth creating access to bachelor degrees for students of all ages including working adults. Midway is responding to community demand to offer these accelerated bachelor degree completion programs through the UCM.”  

The programs offered at UCM through Midway College are: Bachelor of Arts in Health Care Administration on the Hazard Campus of HCTC; Bachelor of Arts in Homeland Security Assessment on the Hazard Campus of HCTC; Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Management on the Hazard Campus of HCTC; and Bachelor of Arts in Teacher Education, Certification in Elementary Education (P-5) with additional certification options in Middle School (5-9) and Learning and Behavior Disorders (LBD, P-12). These UCM Teacher Education programs will continue to be offered by Midway College on the Whitesburg Campus of Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College as well as through UCM at HCTC.

“Forming a partnership with the UCM allows us to expand our current relationship with the KCTCS and continue our mission to bring our programs to students who want to continue their education,” said Dr. William B. Drake, president of Midway College. “We feel that bringing our accelerated bachelor degree completion programs to the students allows them to maintain their normal schedule of work and family life and earn a degree that will provide innumerable benefits for both their families and their communities.”

Midway classes are offered in cohorts, accelerated; meet once per week, evenings and/or weekends, for four hours. Cohorts, except for teacher education, which start in August and January, start when a sufficient number of students are registered.

Midway College offers the major, usually 45 semester hours, which satisfies both upper-division and residency requirements. The host KCTCS institution offers the other courses required for the degree. Students are provided class meeting schedules for the 15 or so courses that make up the 45 semester hour major, which can usually be completed in 18 to 24 months.

Students in Midway College accelerated degree completion programs will be “full-time” insofar as their eligibility for state and federal financial aid programs.            

The four new degree completion programs bring the total to 25 degrees offered by the six UCM partners, which include Midway College, Eastern Kentucky University, Hazard Community and Technical College, the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, Lindsey Wilson College and Morehead State University.

The UCM partnership began in July 2003 with the four public partners -- Eastern Kentucky University, Morehead State University, the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, and Hazard Community and Technical College.  Following the procedures to add partners and degree programs based on needs in the region, independent institutions, Lindsey Wilson College and now Midway College have joined the partnership.

The UCM is a collaborative and cost-effective vehicle in which to bring more bachelor degree and advanced degree programs to an underserved area, officials for the school say.

The school saw recent press on itself when it became evident the current UCM budget would need stretched for additional years without additional dollars from expected state funding, although all reports indicate the institution will continue to offer classes and serve its current students despite depleted funds.

Dr. James R. Wombles, Midway College's vice president and dean of admissions, seemed among the optimists when he said, “We have been aware of the excellent work and successes by UCM in serving the people in the field of higher education in the Kentucky River Area Development District (KRADD), and we are particularly pleased to be partnered with Hazard Community and Technical College, KCTCS, and the other fine institutions that make up UCM.”

KRADD has the lowest percentage of persons with a bachelor degree (8.6 percent) in any Kentucky area development district, compared to the rest of the state (17.1 percent) and nation (24.4 percent). 

While the state is making progress increasing the percentage of citizens with bachelor degrees (25.7 percent improvement in the last decade), the gap is actually widening in KRADD (lagging behind at 16.2 percent) and other rural areas in comparison to the rest of the state, according to reports from higher education officials.

For more information about the new Midway College accelerated bachelor degree completion programs or other UCM partner programs contact Ron Daley at

606-487-3158, e-mail him at ron.daley@kctcs.edu, or visit the UCM web site

at www.ucmky.org, or contact the Midway College Admissions Office

at 800-755-0031, e-mail SCD4me@midway.edu, or visit www.midway.edu.

Evelyn M. Wood and her staff at HCTC contributed to this report.