Sul Ross Expands Farther into the Permian Basin

By Brooke Manuel, Skyline Desk Chief

ALPINE_Sul Ross State University has launched a new initiative with Odessa College to expand farther into the Permian Basin, which will allow Odessa students to earn a four-year degree from the Alpine university.

Sul Ross has partnered for the past 18 years on a similar initiative with Midland College. This has been extremely helpful to non-traditional students who would otherwise not be able to obtain a four-year degree, according to the coordinator of transfer services, Missy Schenkman.

The new arrangement with Odessa College mirrors the one in Midland. This increases the course offerings for Sul Ross students in the Midland/Odessa area as students can now take courses at Midland College, Odessa College and Sul Ross State University.

“Anything that we can do for a degree from Sul Ross that can be done distance, so 100% web or virtual classes, those degrees can be done on the Odessa College campus as well,” Schenkman said.

What’s unique about these two programs is that students can transfer more hours directly to their degree plan at Sul Ross from Midland and Odessa College. This option helps students get their education at a much lower tuition rate.

Most institutions cap at 60 the number of credit hours a student can transfer from a lower-level school, according to Schenkman, whereas through these two programs, students can transfer up to 90 hours depending on their degree plan.

“The main reason that I love this program is the convenience of it, because there are a lot of students that are in Midland or Odessa that have ties to the area,” Schenkman said. “So, this lets students be able to get that bachelor’s degree where they might not have been able to do that through any other method.”