Because we at Cottey believe so strongly in the educational experience that Cottey College offers and because we know that every organization must create new opportunities, we began work in 2009 to identify new educational offerings that would build on our mission, use the talent and creativity of our faculty and attract additional young women to Cottey. We put a collaborative process in place to choose what these educational offerings would be. We have worked for two years to select and then develop new academic programs and to prepare the documentation to gain the approval of our accrediting association.
This is an historic time, a defining moment, because on May 20, 2011, Cottey received notice from The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools of approval to offer three Bachelor of Arts degrees. These three programs are:
- English with a traditional major or an emphasis in women writers
- Environmental studies
- International relations and business
We are accepting applications and registering students now for our baccalaureate programs. Housing and financial aid are available for third- and fourth-year students for fall 2011, and we encourage young women interested in any of these programs to contact the Enrollment Management Office at Cottey College. We encourage P.E.O.s and Cottey Chairs to promote these programs to counselors, teachers, coaches and parents of prospective students. Students 
may enter as first-year students with the intention of staying at Cottey for four years or they may transfer into Cottey and declare one of these majors.
These are not the same majors
a student can take at just any college or university. These majors have been developed to be interrelated, interdisciplinary and to focus on women's leadership and social responsibility. They include emphasis on active learning, service learning, travel and internships. The courses will continue Cottey's tradition of small classes with strong facultystudent relationships.
The baccalaureate programs are housed in a newly created Institute for Women's Leadership and Social Responsibility that allows them to share resources and to be closely coordinated. Dr. Sonia Cowen is the executive director of our Institute which is unlike any that we can identify in the United States. The focus of the Institute is to educate young women in these three fields with a high level of skill and competency, but also to educate them to be women leaders leaders with a strong understanding of social responsibility with a global focus.
Cottey's current faculty has been joined by three new faculty members who have worked together to create our exciting new programs. As the programs grow, the Institute will also provide additional cultural enrichment and leadership opportunities that will be available to students and to other constituents.
Cottey will also continue to focus on our outstanding associate degree programs. With only three majors Cottey clearly will not be a four-year college, but an associate-degree-granting college with selected baccalaureate programs. Nevertheless, we will now recruit students who wish to stay at Cottey for four years. We will offerstudents the opportunity to transfer to Cottey to complete one of these three degree programs and we will continue to work toward the accreditation of additional four-year majors. 
