HERMISTON — Blue Mountain Community College and Washington State University Tri-Cities signed a new deal to facilitate transfers between the two schools.

According to a university press release, the agreement creates the WSU Tri-Cities-BMCC Bridges program, which will waive application and transcript fees for Blue Mountain students looking to transfer to Washington State’s Richland campus and make BMCC transfers immediately eligible for in-state tuition once they make the move. Bridges participants will be assigned advisers from both schools to ensure they’re not taking any classes that won’t transfer between the two institutions.

The two colleges signed the agreement Nov. 4. In the press release, BMCC President Mark Browning expressed excitement over the new program.

“Bridges is what we hope to see for all our students who see a path to their future through a regional research university like Washington State University Tri-Cities,” he said in a statement. “Blue Mountain students will now be able to pursue a complete program right here. The resources available through WSU Tri-Cities are now available to those BMCC students who enroll in Bridges – including those in a variety of STEM programs ranging from engineering, to computer science, to the sciences. Talk about a bright future.”

Although Eastern Oregon University is the region’s four-year college, BMCC’s Hermiston campus is closer to WSU Tri-Cities than any other four-year institution in Oregon. WSU Tri-Cities Chancellor Sandra Haynes said her school’s proximity and its diverse student body where nearly a majority of its attendees are students of color make it a good fit for Blue Mountain students.

“We are excited to partner with Blue Mountain Community College to create access to a baccalaureate degree for more students,” she said in a statement. “With our close proximity to BMCC in Oregon, this program creates an ideal partnership between our two institutions to serve students in both areas and help students save on costs.”

In an interview after the ceremony, Browning said BMCC staff were working on the agreement before he started his job Sept. 7 and he credited them for bringing the deal to fruition.

During Browning’s hiring process, candidates and community members talked about how Blue Mountain was facing increasing competition from institutions across state lines at a time when the college was trying to recover from a steady decline in enrollment. Rather than attend classes close at BMCC’s Hermiston or Boardman’s campuses, some students in western Umatilla County and north Morrow County were traveling across the Columbia River to enroll at Columbia Basin College in Richland, Washington.

Browning said BMCC’s new alliance with WSU Tri-Cities could help some of those students stay closer to home.

“I want them to be Timberwolves,” he said. “And now they can also be Cougars.”

Interested students will need to sign a declaration of intent on the Bridges website and then submit a WSU Tri-Cities admissions application once they’re ready to transfer. The program is only open to BMCC students who have taken less than 45 quarter credits while maintaining a 2.5 cumulative GPA. Eligible students most also be in the process of obtaining an associate’s of arts Oregon transfer degree, or an associate’s of science transfer degree in business or computer science.

For more information, visit tricities.wsu.edu/bridges or email Bridges advisor Rafa Pruneda at rpruneda@wsu.edu.