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COOS BAY - Oregon State University and Southwestern Oregon Community College have agreed to a dual admission and enrollment program that will allow students who want to take classes at both institutions to do so with just one application.

OSU President Paul Risser and Southwestern President Stephen Kridelbaugh will sign the agreement at a ceremony Friday at 12:15 p.m. in 501 Tioga Hall on the Southwestern campus. The two presidents will exchange OSU and Southwestern baseball caps as part of the ceremony.

It's the second such partnership for OSU, which signed a similar agreement with Linn-Benton Community College in May of 1998.

Under the agreement, students will pay regular tuition and fees at Southwestern and OSU, but will save money by paying only one application fee. To enroll, first-year students must be high school graduates or have a GED, and be Oregon residents with a 2.5 GPA. They also must meet all college preparatory requirements for English, math, social studies, science and foreign language; submit SAT or ACT test results; and take the math placement exam at Southwestern or OSU. Transfer students may also qualify for the program.

Applications are available at both institutions and from high school counselors in western Douglas, Coos and Curry counties.

"This creates a seamless process for students," said Bob Bontrager, director of Admission and Orientation at OSU. "We want to make it as easy as possible for students to take full advantage of the educational options available to them."

The partnership with Southwestern is natural for OSU because the two institutions already offer joint programs, Bontrager said.

In the future, Bontrager said OSU will seek similar partnerships with other community colleges across the state to make it easier for students to receive a college education.

"Developing each of these partnerships requires a lot of work," Bontrager said. "We're working outside the normal process."