Rutgers University, Atlantic Cape Community College Officials Open State-of-the-Art Academic Center

MAYS LANDING, N.J. – Rutgers President Robert L. Barchi and Atlantic Cape Community College President Peter Mora hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony today for the new Rutgers at Atlantic Cape Lifelong Learning Center.

“This splendid building demonstrates our strong relationship with Atlantic Cape as well as Rutgers’ commitment to address the growing educational demands of this region,” said Rutgers President Robert L. Barchi.

The two-story, 22,000-square-foot facility will house all Rutgers academic and administrative units at Atlantic Cape. The building features 12 classrooms, a 24-seat computer lab and a student lounge. It will house Rutgers’ degree-completion program and will be used for other programs and events. Starting in January 2013, the facility will be the home of Rutgers’ Gifted Education Professional Certificate Program for K-12 educators.

"The opening of the Rutgers degree-completion facility at our Mays Landing campus is a truly transformational event in the history of Atlantic Cape Community College," said Peter L. Mora, Atlantic Cape president. "Simply put, this facility will greatly expand the opportunity for our graduates, along with graduates of other southern New Jersey community colleges, to obtain baccalaureate and master's degrees from our state university without having to re-locate from their homes."

Rutgers has offered courses, taught by Rutgers professors, on the Atlantic Cape campus for six years. Since this partnership began, the number of students enrolled in Rutgers courses on the Atlantic Cape campus has jumped from 38 students in the 2006-07 academic year to more than 300 students this fall.

Rutgers currently offers 10 undergraduate degree programs at Atlantic Cape, ranging from nursing and political science to business administration and labor and employment relations. Graduate courses in social work and a certificate program in Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace are also offered.

This off-campus concept grew out of a state Commission of Higher Education study in 1998 that identified underserved regions for four-year degree opportunities in New Jersey. Rutgers has established similar partnerships with Brookdale Community College in Monmouth County and Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg, Somerset County.

Each year, more than 50,000 individuals take advantage of Rutgers’ continuing professional education and lifelong learning programs. More than 2,300 online and off-campus courses are available to individuals in New Jersey and around the world. Rutgers’ off-campus programs are among the lifelong learning initiatives coordinated by the Division of Continuing Studies.

Established in 1766, Rutgers is America’s eighth oldest institution of higher learning and one of the nation’s premier public research universities. Rutgers is one of only two New Jersey institutions represented in the prestigious Association of American Universities.

Atlantic Cape is a comprehensive two-year nonprofit publicly supported educational institution serving Atlantic and Cape May counties in New Jersey. It enrolls more than 7,500 students and offers more than 50 career and transfer programs. Formed in 1964, Atlantic Cape was the second community college in New Jersey. It has campuses in Mays Landing, Atlantic City and Cape May Court House.