NEWS RELEASE

Communications and Marketing Office
600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114-3900

For more information, contact:
Phone: 386-226-6157
Fax: 386-226-6158
Contact: Mary Van Buren
Phone: 386-226-6525

Embry-Riddle, DBCC Unite to Help High School Graduates Earn Degrees

Daytona Beach, Fla., July 28, 2005 -- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Daytona Beach Community College have partnered to create the Blue-Gold Connection, a program that helps Florida high school graduates pursue a two-year associate degree at DBCC and then transfer to Embry-Riddle for another two years to earn a bachelor degree at the school’s Daytona Beach or Prescott, Ariz., campus.

The dual-admissions program, which launches this year, is open to any graduate from a Florida high school who has completed the full-time undergraduate application process for Embry-Riddle or is a currently enrolled DBCC student who applies to Embry-Riddle before earning 30 credits at DBCC.

“Blue-Gold students will attend a special orientation at Embry-Riddle at the beginning of their first term in the Blue-Gold Connection so they can become comfortable with the Embry-Riddle campus,” said Gary Hamme, Embry-Riddle vice president of enrollment management. “We welcome them to take part in college activities here throughout their two years in the BGC program.”

One of the major advantages of the new program is that it makes a bachelor degree from Embry-Riddle, whose graduates are sought after by the leading high-tech employers in the nation, attainable for the student who may lack the academic qualifications or financial means to be a full-time first-year student at the university.

Under the BGC arrangement, a smooth transition between the two schools is ensured by assigning an advisor from Embry-Riddle to each student at the start of their study at DBCC. The students are encouraged to enroll in a DBCC associate of arts transfer program to maximize the number of credits accepted by Embry-Riddle.

BGC students can choose from 24 bachelor degrees offered by Embry-Riddle’s Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering. They may also take part in an Embry-Riddle co-operative education/internship in those majors that offer such programs.

Graduates who earn a 2.5 cumulative GPA at DBCC will receive a $4,000 BGC Graduate Achievement Grant from Embry-Riddle. The grant, which is equivalent to what an in-state resident would pay for the cost of an associate degree program, is awarded in $2,000 installments in the junior and senior years at Embry-Riddle. In addition, BGC students are eligible for admissions incentives and need-based financial aid.

For more information, contact the Blue-Gold Connection coordinator at (888) 409-3728, (386) 226-6100, or univadm@erau.edu.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, offers more than 30 degree programs in its Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering. Embry-Riddle educates more than 30,000 students annually in undergraduate and graduate programs at residential campuses in Prescott, Ariz., and Daytona Beach, Fla., through the Extended Campus at more than 130 centers in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East, and through distance learning.