College Park Adds Second Academic Program After Successful Launch

Following the successful Fall 2021 launch of College Park, Tulsa Community College and Oklahoma State University-Tulsa are adding a second academic program.

Beginning Fall 2022, College Park will offer Psychology as a major area of study in addition to Business. Plus, the College Park Business track is adding scholarship opportunities funded by private donors.

College Park, a new education model for Tulsa, is a collaboration between the two institutions to provide a four-year public university experience benefiting individuals who want to earn a bachelor’s degree and stay in Tulsa. It offers a structured course schedule and unique learning format.

“This innovative program is unlike any other option in Tulsa. Through collaboration, each institution brings our strengths for the benefit of students and our community,” says Dr. Leigh Goodson, TCC president and CEO. “For TCC, this is about providing access to college as we respond to employers to provide degree programs tailored to the needs of our region’s economy.”

College Park classes are taught on the OSU-Tulsa campus beginning with TCC faculty for freshman and sophomore level courses and then OSU-Tulsa faculty for junior and senior level classes. The program uses existing infrastructure and capitalizes on student support and resources from two institutions. In addition, the course schedule provides a streamlined path to a chosen bachelor's degree at OSU-Tulsa while maintaining a consistent class schedule for the first two years to help students plan their life and family responsibilities around school before moving to an individualized plan.

A direct response to calls for an affordable, public, four-year higher education option, College Park combines TCC’s nationally recognized experience in the first two years and OSU-Tulsa's role as a public, metropolitan urban-serving research university.

“We have seen high demand for psychology as a College Park degree path,” said Dr. Johnny Stephens, interim president of OSU-Tulsa and president of OSU Center for Health Sciences. “Psychology provides the interpersonal and critical thinking skills valued by employers in a broad spectrum of industries and also serves as an ideal foundational degree for graduate education.”

Students begin the College Park Business or Psychology tracks with a cohort, or group of students, for the freshman and sophomore level courses leading to an associate degree. The students also have access to shared student services, including early advising, career counseling and wellness, as well as research facilities and specialized faculty.

“Through the cohort experience, students create a peer support network. This, along with support from two institutions, resulted in College Park students having a higher GPA during the semester as compared to non-College Park first time entering Business majors,” says Goodson.

College Park is also bolstered with expanded financial support for students. The Ronald and Myra Jeffris College Park Scholarship Fund will award scholarships beginning Fall 2022 to College Park Business Administration students through the TCC Foundation. These scholarships are renewable and will follow the College Park student to completion of their bachelor’s degree. In addition, the Tulsa Achieves scholarship pays tuition and fees for eligible students for the first 60 hours, or the associate degree. Plus, OSU-Tulsa also has commitments to help fund scholarships toward the costs of the junior and senior years for College Park students.

Applications for Fall 2022 are open. Visit College Park for more information. In addition, anyone interested in learning more about College Park is invited to a College Park Open House on March 30 from 4 – 6 p.m. with registration/check starting at 3:30 p.m. The event will cover how to apply for admission, degree options, scholarships and other resources provided by College Park.