UND, Lake Region State College sign Launch! Program A new partnership between the University of North Dakota and Lake Region State College will expand opportunities for individuals to earn a college degree. That program, Launch!, was established to serve students who are not yet eligible for admission to the University of North Dakota but meet eligibility requirements for Lake Region State College. President Robert O. Kelley and LRSC President Mike Bower signed a memorandum of understanding April 13 to officially unveil the Launch! Program. Students who choose to participate in the Launch! Program will enroll as full time students of LRSC, but will also take a limited number of UND classes. They will be able to participate fully in the student life, housing, services, organizations, facilities, and activities available to every degree-seeking UND student. LRSC will hire instructional staff and a resident coordinator to administer the program on the UND campus. UND Student Success Center will provide academic advisor support and training for the LRSC resident coordinator. To the extent possible, students will participate in a living/learning community in UND residence halls, as developed and implemented by the LRSC resident coordinator. LRSC will develop courses taught at UND using a cohort model with enrollment limited to program students. LRSC will remain the students’ home institution, but UND academic standing requirements will apply to each student. Students who successfully complete 24 transferable credits may be considered for degree-seeking transfer student admission to UND. “Lake Region State College and UND have a long history of working together. The Launch! Program is simply one more way UND and LRSC can partner together for student success. Programs like this emerge as the result of a cohesive university system that fosters such partnership between institutions,” said LRSC President Mike Bower. “This is an outstanding program that will benefit students who want to experience the kind of vibrant campus life we have at the University of North Dakota. This type of cooperation, between a two-year school like Lake Region State College and the doctoral research institution that is UND, underscores the value of the North Dakota University System and exemplifies the kind of service to the citizens of the state that is the hallmark of our institutions and the University System, not unlike the partnership we share with Lake Region State College in Workforce Development,” said President Dr. Robert O. Kelley. For more information, contact Sue Sholes, assistant director of Enrollment Services, at 777-4463 or e-mail suzannesholes@mail.und.edu.