 A new program for community colleges across the state will help students who are looking to transfer after graduation. Central Lakes College is excited to start their new psychology pathways program. Sarah Winkelman has the details. For students who attend two years at a community college with hopes to transfer to a four-year university, life just became a lot simpler. The people of Minnesota have wanted seamless transfer from community colleges to four-year universities for a very long time ever since the Minnesota State College and University System was formed in the 1990s. After spending two years in the classrooms here at CLC, any students from the program are guaranteed admission to any Minnesota State University with junior standing given that their GPA qualifies. Really change the game and instead of just asking students they're going to pursue their liberal arts or general education courses, now we can ask them what major are you planning to do in college and they can start taking classes to get there right from the beginning. In order to come up with the final agreement, groups of faculty, advisors and deans from community colleges and universities gathered to discuss the most important piece, the students. Really exciting work to be able to talk with colleagues across the state about what students really need at the two-year level and what the four years are really looking for in the students that come from the two-year schools. The first step in this process is to implement the Psychology Pathways program starting this fall. Well we have a lot of students that are coming to us and they have a dream in mind they have a goal that they want to achieve and what this allows us them to do really is start at the beginning. For some students looking to stay close to home at first, this program will help them begin their journey in higher education. It's a great opportunity for students to start here and get those first two years with some really good instructors. I'm really proud of the degree that we've constructed and the faculty that we have teaching and I think it's a great way for students to start their degrees. Psychology is just the beginning to many new pathway programs to be added. Reporting in Brainerd, Sarah Winckelman, Lakeland News. Some other potential areas of study for the program could be biology, chemistry or economics. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.