WHEELING — Students aspiring to pursue a career in social work will have an easier time of doing so locally.

West Virginia Northern Community College and West Liberty University signed an articulation agreement Tuesday afternoon, allowing students to seamlessly transfer class credits between WVNCC and WLU.

This eases the sharing of application and admissions information, transcripts, and other records, while students who complete the 61 credits required at WVNCC and maintain a 2.5 GPA will be eligible for admission to West Liberty’s Bachelor of Social Work program.

WVNCC President Daniel Mosser said the agreement was beneficial for both students and the educational community as a whole. As WVNCC has worked with WLU for similar programs in the past, he was glad to continue the professional partnership between the schools.

“It’s critically important, as many of our students want to transfer into a four-year degree, and at West Liberty, it’s an important pipeline into their program,” he said. “We already have a handful of (agreements) with West Liberty, and we’ll have two or three more coming. … It creates a four-year pipeline, so people who come to W.Va. Northern can have a four-year plan in mind.”

WVNCC offers several other programs which conclude at WLU, such as elementary and pre-K education, secondary education courses, as well as business courses.

WLU President Stephen Greiner said the agreement was great for those seeking a career in social work, a field which was in high demand.

“We have a longstanding partnership with WVNCC for numerous programs, but this one is of particular interest because of the tremendous need for licensed social workers in our community, and in the state of West Virginia. The reason you have these articulation agreements is to make it seamless, so (students) can transfer easily,” Greiner said.

“For the local community, there’s a tremendous need for social workers. Social workers help many families, individuals, with issues and crises, and social workers are extremely important. Through this agreement, we’re hoping to fill that void,” Greiner added.

Kathy Herrington, program director for social services and psychology programs at WVNCC, said she was extremely glad to get the agreement in place.

“Social work allows students to get a bachelor’s degree that makes the license-eligible for a social worker’s license, which allows them to have certain jobs they can’t get without a license,” she added.