Youngstown State University and Thiel College in Greenville have signed a cooperative agreement for an educational partnership that will allow Thiel graduates to more easily enroll in YSU's master's degree programs.

"This is the first agreement of its kind for YSU's graduate school," Dr. Peter Kasvinsky, dean of graduate studies at YSU, said before the agreements were signed Wednesday on the YSU campus.

"We look forward to establishing similar ties with other area colleges. It provides mutual gains for both sides."

The agreement sets up a unique relationship with YSU: Students who have already earned their undergraduate degrees and have been selected to be residence hall directors at Thiel will enroll in YSU's master's in education program in counseling. They will simultaneously serve as resident advisers at Thiel and graduate students at YSU. Four Thiel graduates, along with a graduate of YSU, now serving as resident directors at Thiel, are enrolled in YSU master's programs under the new partnership.

"There really are so many winners in a partnership like this," said Dr. Lance A. Masters, Thiel president and chief executive officer.

"The students living in our residence halls certainly are winners because they will have better qualified staff to serve their needs, and they are better qualified because they are getting a world-class education at an institution like YSU."

YSU also signed a partnership agreement with Central State University, Ohio's only historically black public university, that will allow Central State graduates to more easily enroll in YSU's master's degree programs, as well as provide faculty exchanges and grant-sharing opportunities between the two schools.

"This agreement fosters collaboration among two important educational institutions in the state of Ohio," YSU President Dr. David C. Sweet said about the partnership with Central State.