Path to a higher degree
Courtesy of Central Michigan University. CMU Provost Paula Lancaster, CMU President Neil MacKinnon, LCC President Steve Robinson and LCC Provost Sally Welch announce partnership between both colleges on Nov. 19, 2025.
Lansing Community College students now have a pathway to earn a four-year degree faster, and with fewer roadblocks.
Central Michigan University partnered with LCC to create a new co-enrollment, dual-admission program called Central Bound. Kaleb Patrick, the interim vice president of Innovation and Online at CMU, said Central Bound will help create an easier path for LCC students to earn a bachelor’s degree.
“What we want to be able to do is help those students achieve their goals by eliminating a bunch of those unknown questions and a bunch of administrative red tape that they potentially experience otherwise,” Patrick said.
Nationally, he said 80% of students who attend a community college indicate they want to pursue a four-year bachelor's degree. But roughly 18% complete one.
Patrick attributes that difference to misunderstandings about the difference in universities’ requirements. This partnership ensures students are taking the correct classes that will count towards their bachelor's degree.
“Now, whether the individual is talking to somebody from CMU or they're talking to somebody from LCC, the information they're getting is up to date, and it's accurate,” Patrick said.
With Central Bound, students are enrolled at both institutions, allowing them access to academic support and advising from both schools. Patrick said this collaboration eliminates room for possible errors because they're not technically transferring.
Central Bound students have access to LCC and CMU online and on-campus classes. They may also apply through either school.
“We help break down any of those barriers that historically existed, so that we can create as meaningful and effective of an educational experience as possible for those students,” Patrick said.
LCC Provost Sally Welch said partnerships allowing students to be both community college and four-year institution students aren’t common in the country. According to Patrick and Welch, CMU and LCC administrators and faculty worked closely to create transfer guides and articulation agreements based on the program.
“We have called this opportunity with Lansing Community College a prototype of how we can do this with other institutions moving forward,” Patrick said.
The LCC partnership was funded by a grant from the Michigan Center for Adult College Success. With a desire to partner with more community colleges in the future, Patrick said CMU pursued another grant to help with the costs of expanding.
Patrick said it's still not certain how other programs could be phased into the program, should CMU receive that money. He said decisions about what community colleges would be added to Central Bound would be made by the provost's office, Student Recruitment and Retention and Student and Academic Affairs.
“It's a big deal to have a dual admission program,” Welch said. “And there's a lot of behind-the-scenes work that has to be done to make it very smooth for the students.”
