Paine College has formed a relationship with an unlikely partner in upstate South Carolina.

The college announced Tuesday that it has created a partnership with Greenville Technical College, part of Paine President George Bradley's "friend-raising" efforts.

Although the institutions differ in size and mission, they found common denominators, Dr. Bradley said.

The colleges, for instance, share a vision of international education, he said. Students studying forensic science at Greenville Tech can complete their education by studying biology at Paine.

"We have a technical college from the Upstate that is extremely large, and we have a private liberal arts religious institution from Georgia that is very small and quaint, but with the two, educational opportunities are very important for our society, and that's our passport to greatness," Dr. Bradley said.

The agreement between the institutions allows students advancing from Greenville Tech to further their education at Paine College.

Paine is the first historically black college in Georgia to form a partnership with Greenville Tech, but the technical college has links with six others in South Carolina.

Greenville Tech President Keith Miller said there have rightfully been efforts to improve K-12 education, two-year colleges and four-year colleges.

"But what we haven't looked at as a nation very much is the gaps in between those sectors of education," Dr. Miller said. "I think that's where we lose a lot of students."

The new partnership also addresses the need to stretch across borders, he said.

"Friend-raising" is one of five strategic objectives Dr. Bradley established after becoming president in January. More partnerships could be coming.

"We're in the planning phase with several, but there's nothing that we're going to jump into unless we see some long-term opportunities," he said.

The first student from Greenville Tech will begin at Paine next month.

Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.