Marian Court College to offer four-year degrees

SWAMPSCOTT – Marian Court College will be offering a four-year degree for the first time since opening in 1964, according to college President and CEO Ghazi Darkazalli.He said Monday the reasons they added the four-year bachelor?s degree programs are to increase enrollment and build a better network of alums.Darkazalli said 75 percent of Marian Court students continue their education at nearby institutions like Salem State University or Endicott College after earning an associates degree at the Swampscott college.?When you do the work to prepare students, you want to see them go all the way,” said Darkazalli during an interview at the picturesque college located on the Swampscott waterfront.He added that students have been asking for a four-year program for years in their exit surveys given at graduation.A four-year program in business administration is already set to begin in January, and another one in criminal justice is in the process of approval. “Our higher enrollment is in these two programs,” said Darkazalli.He said 33 percent of the 230 enrolled students at Marian Court choose those majors, and more sign up for concentrations within the business administration major, including accounting, management, marketing and a new program in fashion merchandising.Although Darkazalli plans to add more four-year degrees, he said Marian Court will keep two-year associate degrees to “continue to serve the community,” which he describes as “very diverse in background whether it is ethnic or economic.”Darkazalli describes his student population as local students who want to stay close to home, but wanted “an affordable private college education.” He said 90 percent of the students work in the community and 90 percent are offered financial assistance.Even with the new programs, Darkazalli said, “We have no plans to change tuition, other than typical inflation.”The current tuition is about $16,000 a year.Darkazalli said the four-year degree will be good for recruiting students.?We would like to increase enrollment,” said Darkazalli.He said instead of North Shore Community College students finding Salem State University to be the only option to continue their education, “they could come here if they want a private education.”Kait Taylor can be reached at [email protected].