Rider offers tuition cut for MCCC employees

By Ryan Connelly 

A new partnership with Mercer County Community College (MCCC) and Rider gives the employees of MCCC a reduction on their tuition at the university. 

“Rider and Mercer County Community College have enjoyed a long partnership together,” said President Gregory Dell’Omo. “For years, we have had articulation agreements that allow Mercer County Community College students to transfer to Rider seamlessly. This new agreement builds upon that relationship and will allow employees of the college to have opportunities to advance their education.”

Rider offered a 20 percent discount from its total tuition; this included undergraduate, part-time graduate, on-campus and online programs. Rider had 70 undergraduate programs along with 40 graduate programs, all available to MCCC employees at the reduced rate.  

MCCC had decided to return the favor by helping out the Rider community. 

“In addition to Rider offering a discounted tuition rate for employees, Mercer County Community College will continue to offer internship and job opportunities for Rider students and alumni whenever possible,” said Dell’Omo.  

Rider and MCCC have had a very strong relationship, even before the new partnership was created. Rider also offered ideal transfers for 28 different programs, meaning that, if a student were to attend MCCC and transfer to Rider, no credits would be lost during the transfer. 

“Rider University is one of our most valued partners in education,” said MCCC President Jianping Wang. “Rider already has multiple agreements in place that benefit our students so this was a natural fit for all concerned. This new agreement just further strengthens our partnership with Rider and, of course, Rider’s partnership with the greater Mercer County community.”

Dell’Omo agreed with Wang regarding the strong bond that Rider has with MCCC. 

“This partnership is a great addition to our strong relationship with Mercer County Community College,” said Dell’Omo. “We’ve provided educational pathways for their students for years and now we want to extend the same opportunities to their employees.”

Employees at MCCC have already taken advantage of the existing partnership and, now, there’s even more that want to be apart of the new agreement.

“Employees have already enjoyed the benefit of our relationship with Rider, with three of them offering presentations during our signing ceremony in October,” said Wang. “Of those presenting, one is involved in the Engaged Learning Program while two others are in the master’s degree program in Organizational Leadership. This is a multiple win situation for all concerned: our employees get the opportunity to expand their education and career opportunities, Mercer benefits from the enhanced skills staff members receive and Rider has access to a new pool of enthusiastic, quality students. We couldn’t be more pleased with our growing partnership with Rider.”