New partnership between Fort Lewis College and Colorado’s community colleges to be signed at press conference Sept. 18, 2012

Durango, CO – On Tuesday, September 18, 2012, Patty Erjavec, president of Pueblo Community College, and Dr. Dene Kay Thomas, president of Fort Lewis College, will hold a press conference to announce and sign the new Admissions Promise Agreement. The press conference will be held at the Durango Public Library, 1900 East 3rd Avenue, Durango, CO, at 9:30 a.m. The press and community are invited to attend.

The Admissions Promise Agreement is a statewide initiative between the Colorado Community College System, which comprises 13 institutions, and Fort Lewis College to help students attending community college continue their education at FLC. As part of the agreement, FLC will provide academic advisors to community college students to help those students choose the best courses to assist them when they transition to Fort Lewis College. FLC will also waive the application fee for these students and admit them as juniors after they earn their associate’s degree.

Fort Lewis College is Colorado’s Public Liberal Arts College with a uniquely diverse student population. No other four-year institution in the country awards more bachelor’s degrees to Native American students and only the U.S. Air Force Academy has won more CASE Colorado Professor of the Year awards.

The Colorado Community College System comprises the state’s largest system of higher education, serving more than 162,000 students annually. CCCS oversees career and academic programs in the 13 state community colleges and career and technical programs in more than 160 school districts and six other post-secondary institutions. The colleges in the Colorado Community College System are Arapahoe Community College, Colorado Northwestern Community College, Community College of Aurora, Community College of Denver, Front Range Community College, Lamar Community College, Morgan Community College, Northeastern Junior College, Otero Junior College, Pikes Peak Community College, Pueblo Community College, Red Rocks Community College, and Trinidad State Junior College