BMCC and Baruch College Launch Business Academy to Ensure Academic and Career Success

The BMCC-Baruch Business Academy was launched October 19 with a signing ceremony led by Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) President Anthony E. Munroe and Baruch College, CUNY President S. David Wu at the Baruch College Clivner=Field Plaza in Manhattan.

The BMCC-Baruch College Business Academy propels BMCC students on academic and career paths that include smooth transfer into the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College.

The Academy provides dual enrollment in both BMCC and Baruch, and supports a seamless transfer for students who first earn an Associate of Science (A.S.) in Business Administration at BMCC, then a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) in Baruch’s Zicklin School of Business.

Students in the Academy work in small cohorts with dedicated advisors and benefit from priority registration, activities including career panels and networking events, peer mentoring and access to the Bridge to Baruch (B2B) program, which supports transfer students.

CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, who was not able to attend the event, said, “This partnership between BMCC and Baruch reflects CUNY’s commitment to making sure students in associate programs have a seamless transfer to bachelor’s degree programs within the University system. By working together, our campuses ensure that CUNY continues to be an engine of economic and social mobility by providing our students with clear pathways from community college to four-year colleges to career success.”

BMCC President Anthony E. Munroe said, “Together, BMCC and Baruch College are narrowing achievement gaps and creating a pipeline that will help infuse today’s highly competitive finance, IT and other industries with college graduates whose cultural fluency, academic achievement and drive will be a vital asset to their fields. We’re very excited about joining Baruch College in deepening the services and opportunities available to our BMCC graduates who transfer to the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College.”

Baruch College President S. David Wu said, “At Baruch, we pride ourselves on our rich tradition of academic excellence, accessibility, and outcomes. The Business Academy is an important initiative in our overarching mission to make excellence accessible to all students who are willing to work hard to attain a top-notch college degree. Education is supposed to be an equalizer that helps all citizens overcome social, economic, and class barriers to success … As time will show, the Business Academy model will be a game-changer for our students, and for society at large.”

Other guest speakers at the signing ceremony included Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick, 66^th Assembly District, and CUNY Executive Vice Chancellor, University Provost Wendy F. Hensel.

Assemblymember Glick serves as chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Higher Education, which oversees private and public higher education institutions and is a strong advocate for increased support for higher education.

“Today’s ceremony to formalize an articulation agreement between the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College and Borough of Manhattan Community College is an example of seamless pathways within the City University,” said Assemblymember Glick. “This cross-campus arrangement benefits not only the students and their families, but the city itself. When our students can maximize their educational opportunities and reach their goals sooner it sets an example for others and encourages greater retention participation and completion. I applaud President Wu and President Munroe for their commitment to improving access for students and for encouraging other campuses to explore these types of agreements.”

CUNY Executive Vice Chancellor Hensel oversees CUNY initiatives to improve student transfer, as well as student inclusion initiatives and efforts to promote enrollment growth. In her remarks, EVC Hensel said that while about 80% of community college students surveyed say they want to earn a bachelor’s degree, only about 30% of community college graduates go on to do so. One reason for this, she said, is that oftentimes graduates hit barriers in the college transfer process and experience loss of credit.

“The work that the BMCC-Baruch Business Academy is doing around seamless transfer reflects and advances CUNY’s legacy as the nation’s top engine of social mobility,” said EVC Hensel. This is what real diversity, equity, and inclusivity work looks like. This partnership’s positive impact on our students’ academic and personal success cannot be overstated.”

The BMCC-Baruch Business Academy came about through the collaborative efforts of faculty and administrators at both colleges.

Baruch Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Linda Essig, as well as BMCC Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Erwin J. Wong spoke about the hard work and years of close collaboration between BMCC and Baruch College faculty that brought the BMCC-Baruch Business Academy into existence.

“The majority of BMCC Business Administration students were already transferring to the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College,” said BMCC Business Department Chair Mahatapa Palit. “By adopting a model where transfer students are intentionally supported from the day they join the Business Administration program at BMCC, the BMCC-Baruch Academy creates a seamless pathway for students to move to the Zicklin School of Business with focused advisement, academic support, peer mentoring and cross-campus co-curricular activities. The Academy takes a good thing and makes it better.”

Julius Morris, a Business Administration major in the BMCC-Baruch Business Academy, said, “The main benefit of being a part of BMCC-Baruch Academy is that I am part of a community that is dedicated to my success through mentorship, group events and academic advisement. Without the Academy, I believe I would be just another number in a vast university system. I now feel I have the support I need to achieve greatness in all my future endeavors.”

 

For more information about the BMCC-Baruch Business Academy at BMCC, visit here.

For more information about the Baruch Business Academy at the Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business, visit here.