Lindsey Wilson College, Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College Partner to Offer Degree in Middlesboro

Agreement will offer bachelor's degree in human services and counseling in weekend format to help meet region's need for mental health care professionals.

by Duane Bonifer

MIDDLESBORO, Ky. (06/09/2025) — Tommie Ann Saragas knows firsthand the value of expanding higher-education opportunities in Southeast Kentucky.

Two decades ago, the Harlan, Kentucky, resident earned a bachelor of arts degree from Lindsey Wilson College while attending classes at the college's extended campus in Cumberland, Kentucky, through a partnership with Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College.

Now residents of the region will be able to do the same in Middlesboro, thanks to an agreement signed Monday, June 9, between Lindsey Wilson College and Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College officials.

The new partnership -- which Southeast Kentucky CTC Interim President Patsy Jackson called "unique and amazing" -- allows Lindsey Wilson to offer classes in its highly regarded human services and counseling program at the Southeast Kentucky CTC Middlesboro Campus.

The Lindsey Wilson classes, which will be a combination of in-person and online meetings, will be offered on weekends in Middlesboro. Students will spend about six weekends a semester in the classroom and the rest online. Students who graduate from Southeast Kentucky CTC with an associate's degree can earn a Lindsey Wilson bachelor's degree in a little less than two years.

Human services and counseling graduates are prepared to work in mental health care and social services, and many go on to earn a graduate degree in the profession.

'Serve a region we all love'

Saragas, who is now Lindsey Wilson's assistant vice president of educational outreach for online and graduate programs, said "we know how powerful this program can be."

"It's changed our lives," she said. "We take it personally, not only because we serve a mission we believe in but because we also serve a region we all love."

Jackson said the partnership between Southeast Kentucky CTC and Lindsey Wilson is "a unique opportunity to say that school doesn't just run Monday through Friday, 8 to 4:30."

"There are adult learners who need something different," she said. "And this is an opportunity to blend an amazing higher-education partnership together to create a tremendous opportunity here for our students in Middlesboro."

Jackson said she also expects students in the area to travel to Middlesboro for the Lindsey Wilson human services and counseling program. Saragas said the college has already enrolled students for the first cohort, which will begin in the fall.

Saragas -- who worked to establish the Southeast Kentucky CTC-Middlesboro partnership along with Lindsey WIlson Director for Enrollment for Extended Programs Ryan Vitatoe and Coordinator for Education Outreach Jason Weaver -- said that Lindsey Wilson's cohort model is another one of its strengths.

"We have incredible online programs at Lindsey Wilson, but we know there are students that want and need face-to-face interaction with their faculty and with fellow students," said Saragas. "Being a member of a cohort gives you support that you didn't even know you need as an adult learner."

And Lindsey Wilson Regional Academic Director Kimberly Brown said the partnership between the two schools will help meet the region's education and professional needs.

"There are a lot of people who were like we were -- they want to get their degree and do something for their communities that is vitally needed," said Brown, a Harlan native and also a graduate of the Southeast Kentucky CTC-Lindsey Wilson partnership in Cumberland. "This will help communities who are hurting and need mental health services. So why not do that right here, within our own communities?"

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