University College Decoded: Q&A with Dr. Ann Ifekwunigwe

Dr. Ann Ifekwunigwe, Director of University College, shares why RBC students should take advantage of the multi-layered University College program.

By Sterling Giles 

Q: What’s your elevator pitch for University College?

A: The University College Program supports students who are interested in business, psychology, or education. We have partnerships with Virginia State University (VSU) and Virginia Wesleyan University (VWU). Students can decide to stay at RBC (Richard Bland College of William & Mary) and take their courses at either of the aforementioned universities. It’s an exciting way of expanding our degree offerings so that we’re able to support students who want to earn a bachelor’s degree but really love the intimacy of RBC’s campus. So, with Virginia Wesleyan, students are able to stay at RBC for the third year and then they either need to do their fourth year at VWU or online. And then with Virginia State, students can stay at RBC the entire time and complete their bachelor’s degree. However, they would still be enrolled as Virginia State students but they’d physically be here on RBC’s campus.

Q: Tell me more about other transfer admission pathways and programs offered here at RBC.

A: The Transfer Scholars Network (TSN) connects high-achieving community college students to dedicated admissions representatives from top four-year colleges nationwide with very generous financial aid programs. This provides RBC students with access to the following TSN member schools: Amherst College, Bates College, Brown University, Bowdoin College, Cornell University, Johns Hopkins University, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Mount Holyoke College, Pomona College, Princeton University, Rice University, Smith College, Swarthmore College, Wellesley College, Williams College and Yale University. Within the next year or two, Columbia University, Northwestern University and Wesleyan University will join as member schools. Another program, Transfer Virginia, provides information about dozens of four-year transfer partners across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Students can upload their transcripts to verify their credits and the transferability of their coursework. They can also find course maps and search majors at partner colleges and universities. Last but not least, there are pathways to the College of William & Mary (W&M). There are several paths for guaranteed admission to W&M for RBC students including the Guaranteed Admission, Honors, Promise Scholars and Bridge programs.

Q: What goals and benchmarks do you hope University College achieves in the short-term and long-term?

A: In the short-term, flooding the campus with information and then expanding the number of majors in the program. Also, involving high schools—finding out which ones have future teacher programs and seeing how we can create pathways through RBC to VSU for the four-year teacher degree and credential program. I would love to be bursting at the seams with students at VSU, VWU and eventually other colleges and universities. My long-term goal is to have more applicants for the program than we have space to accommodate!

Q: How would you convince students on the fence to attend RBC?

A: If they’re really on the fence about whether or not to do this, the opportunity to stay here at RBC and continue courses I think is really attractive, especially since it’s so easy for students to get connected on a small campus in such an intimate setting. The financial piece is amazing, especially with VWU. They give students $24,000 to offset the cost of tuition because as a private institution, they’re much more expensive than RBC is. Plus, just visiting the VWU campus, students get an extra $1,000. 

Click here to learn more about the University College program.

NOTE: This interview has been edited for brevity.