Students looking to work toward a four year degree after Northeast who need a flexible, online option should take a look at Bellevue University. The Omaha area based institution accepts 60 credit hours from Northeast Community College and any left over hours go toward electives. Bellevue representative, Amanda Avidano, advises students to take all their electives at Northeast because it makes transferring easier. Bellevue accepts all Associate’s Degrees and their programs are designed around the working adult. Avidano says classes are shorter in length so there is time to study and spend time with family and friends. There are 43 online classes at Bellevue University.

The process of applying for Bellevue from Northeast is very simple. First, talk to Avidano and look at all the programs. Second, discuss the transfer process. Third, do the application in person or Avidano can email it to you to do at home. Lastly, fill out the FAFSA application and request all official transcripts from previous schools.

When Davida Gaffney heard about Northeast starting a partnership with Bellevue she requested information online and within a day an admissions representative from the Bellevue campus called and helped walk her through the application process. Gaffney had had the choice last spring to either spend 12 months getting an AAS or 18 months getting a BA. Taking online classes from Bellevue allowed her to earn a higher degree with only a six-month difference than getting an AAS at Northeast.

Having a representative from Bellevue in the Lifelong Learning Center at Northeast has made the process easier for many students. Before Avidano was on campus, Gaffney said she had to be extremely proactive about making sure her credits transferred and her financial aid was in place and dispersed appropriately. “I do think that if she had been around when I applied to Bellevue, things probably would have been better organized,” said Gaffney.

Gaffney thinks that before a student transfers somewhere, their best bet would be to talk to a teacher they trust and get some ideas about the field and the different pathways to get where they want to be. She also said that if their main goal is to have a BA degree, they want to do it online, and time is an issue, Bellevue might be a very good option, particularly if they have a family or are a non-traditional student.

Gaffney said she has taken some really interesting courses and interacted with fellow students from across the world. When asked what she is hoping to do with her degree, she said, “I want to work at an ad company or as an in-house designer for a bit and then start my own graphic design firm.”