A new partnership between the University of Oregon and Southwestern Oregon Community College seeks to allow marine biology students to spend their whole undergraduate academic career on the Oregon Coast.
This partnership would allow students to begin at SWOCC, complete an associate degree in marine biology there and then be able to complete a bachelor’s degree at the OIMB.
Currently, marine biology students at UO complete three to four terms at the UO Charleston campus which houses the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology and complete the rest of their degree requirements at the Eugene campus.
According to the proposal summary at the March 3 Board of Trustees meeting, this partnership will allow for the Charleston campus to be changed from an “other instructional site” to an “additional location,” as the program now meets the 50% credit threshold for additional locations as outlined by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
The Charleston campus would also be renamed to the “UO Coastal Campus,” according to the Board of Trustees meeting.
SWOCC, located in Coos Bay, Oregon, serves students from Coos, Curry and Douglas counties. The college is 6.5 miles from OIMB.
UO Charleston campus sits on an 11-acre property and allows for university teaching, research and community engagement, according to the Board of Trustees documents.
The property includes 25 buildings consisting of classrooms, research labs, housing and dining, and an auditorium. The campus also houses UO’s aquarium and the Charleston Marine Life Center, according to the proposal.
Maya Watts, the education program coordinator for OIMB, said that this pathway for students will make a seamless transition for students interested in completing their entire degree on the coast, and eliminates the need to move to Eugene.
According to Watts, students of this combined program might include those who may not be interested in a “traditional” freshman year, or out-of-state students interested in marine biology who might find this a cheaper option than completing a degree entirely at UO.
Watts anticipates that the program will grow “over time” as co-marketing begins with SWOCC and students learn about this opportunity while touring either SWOCC or OIMB.
“(SWOCC) has a much greater pipeline to OIMB and UO for students from out-of-state, in particular, or more local students to take this route,” Watts said.
According to Doug Goodwin, instructional dean of transfer at SWOCC, the partnership will give students from rural coastal counties more of an opportunity to get an associate’s degree at SWOCC than transfer directly to the Coastal Campus.
“(The) community college, which is more affordable, more accessible for people in rural communities such as the corner of the state of Oregon where we are, gives them the opportunity to do their associate’s degree. Finishing (this program) successfully would transition directly to the currently called Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Oregon,” Goodwin said.
The partnership and creation of the Coastal Campus, according to Goodwin, creates a “smooth transition” from associate to undergraduate degree by having more flexibility and allowing students to do everything in the same place.
Although UO anticipates low numbers of students will follow this path initially, according to the summary proposal, Goodwin is hopeful that the Coastal Campus will gain popularity, especially from students who grew up in the area.
“Imagine high school students growing up on the Oregon Coast, or the Washington State coastline or even Northern California, and they don’t have a marine biology associate’s degree available to them,” Goodwin said. “I expect a lot of graduating high school seniors (will come) knowing that (they) can study the habitats of the place they grew up in.”
In order for students to complete their degree without coming to the Eugene campus, the Coastal Campus must be designated as a degree-granting institution.
The UO Portland campus is an example of a satellite campus that is a degree-granting location.
According to Watts, the Memorandum of Understanding –– which outlines things like course equivalencies between SWOCC and UO –– is being updated as well as financial aid logistics for the students going from SWOCC to OIMB.
According to the proposal at the Board of Trustees meeting, the UO College of Arts and Sciences dean and the provost have approved the change. UO intends to allow students to enter SWOCC under this agreement starting this coming fall, but is prepared to delay until fall 2026 if proper accreditation approvals cannot be obtained in time. There will be no additional operational cost when this program begins.
