NATCHEZ — The Natchez public school system and Alcorn State University are preparing to become cohorts — not partners in crime, but partners in education.

“‘Cohort’ — it’s a group of students enrolled in the same program who will start the program together and they will remain together as a group until the end of their program,” Special Assistant to the President at Alcorn State University Ruth Nichols said.

Starting in January 2010, Alcorn will begin offering education bachelor’s, master’s and Master of Arts degrees in teaching degree courses on its Natchez and Vicksburg campuses.

“Courses will be scheduled in a continuing sequence that will allow (students) to finish in a short period of time and ensure the courses they need will be offered,” Nichols said.

“It also develops a group cohesion and strengthens their chance for success because they can rely on each other. It almost forms a support group.”

Nichols said the cohort program will allow Alcorn professors to travel to the university’s Natchez campus to teach weekly courses, thus making it possible for students to work their studies into their already full schedule.

“These classes are going to be offered on a more flexible schedule for these adult learners,” Nichols said. “It’s obvious that most of these students will be working, have families and need to take courses on a schedule that will fit their already busy schedule.”

Nichols said students who have completed or have been working on a bachelor’s degree in education would be able to enroll in the courses offered and either complete their bachelor’s degree or work toward their master’s degree in education.

For students from the Natchez area who are thinking of going into education but have not started their degrees, Nichols said it would be a good opportunity to work with Alcorn’s partner university, Copiah-Lincoln Community College Natchez Campus.

“For people who don’t have the first two years of their bachelor’s degree, we would recommend people take their first two years at Co-Lin,” Nichols said.

Nichols said one of the more interesting forms of degree that can be earned from the cohort program is a master of arts in teaching.

By obtaining a MAT, any bachelor degree-holding citizen of Mississippi can teach within the state, no matter what area their original degree focus was.

“Its user friendly for people who want to teach school,” Nichols said.

The Natchez-based program’s first organizational meeting will take place on Alcorn’s Natchez campus at 5 p.m. Oct. 28.

“We’ll have staff there to answer questions,” Nichols said. “It’s our goal to offer flexible, non-traditional formats that will make education more accessible to our communities and provide a bigger chance for success.”

The program not only keeps travel time to attend higher-level education classes to a minimum, but it also helps more people from the Adams County area become certified, degree-holding educators in Mississippi — which is currently seeing a shortage in teachers.

“I think it is a great opportunity for K through 12 and higher education to work together to advance opportunities for our employees who are pursuing their education,” Assistant Superintendent Morris Stanton said.

Nichols said this program is just the beginning of many Alcorn is working on bringing to Natchez.

“Because of the opportunity of having Co-Lin and Alcorn both in Natchez, we want to make it much more possible for people to stay in Natchez and get four to six years of college right here at home,” Nichols said.