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Top Stories       Printer Friendly Sunday, May 19, 2013

Wayland Baptist, TSTC Sign Agreement
[Wednesday, August 15, 2012]


TSTC and Wayland Baptist signed an articulation agreement for transfer credits.The presidents of Texas State Technical College (TSTC) Harlingen and Wayland Baptist University (WBU) have signed an agreement that allows TSTC students to smoothly transfer college credits toward bachelor’s and master’s degree programs offered by WBU.

Dr. Cesar Maldonado of TSTC, Dr. Paul Armes of WBU, and administrators and faculty from the two institutions met August 14 at the University Center on the TSTC campus, where both institutions belong to the South Texas Educational Partnership (STEP). The eight universities in STEP offer a combined total of 26 bachelor degrees, 26 master degrees and one doctoral degree. The consortium has adopted the slogan, “Taking you Further and Keeping You Near” to represent more university degrees available in the Rio Grande Valley.

“This is a strategic time and a strategic place for the University Center,” Dr. Maldonado said. “The higher education opportunities that TSTC and STEP build here are becoming a model for success that will be repeated throughout the state and the nation. Many students and communities will experience economic benefits that result from graduates’ academic and career advancement.”

Dr. Armes said that the Rio Grande Valley is a key region in Texas for expanding higher education degrees to serve students’ and businesses’ growing demands. “We want to reach out to more students so they will know that a lot of good things can happen right here in Harlingen for their education,” he said.

The WBU courses provided at the University Center include face-to-face instruction, online delivery and hybrid options. Vidal N. Muñiz, WBU site coordinator for the Rio Grande Valley, recently spoke at TSTC about how TSTC credits transfer toward Bachelor of Applied Science, Bachelor of Applied Technology, and higher degrees. He said that WBU also accepts 12 credit hours from incoming students with four or more years of documented work experience.

“We are not a school of theology or a Bible college,” Muñiz said. “Eighty-five percent of our students are working adults and there are a lot of things going on in their lives. So, our schedule and tuition costs appeal to them. Most of the classes are scheduled for nights and weekends.”

Julian Cano, who will teach the course Principles of Management for WBU in a bachelor’s degree program at the University Center, sat among dignitaries to witness the ceremony. “If you’re going to be a leader, you’re going to be required to manage time, finances and other resources to focus on achieving goals,” he explained.

“TSTC students in the General Education Studies and Academic Core have advising available on campus to develop plans for transitions to universities and higher degrees like the Wayland Baptist programs,” said Regina Mitchell-Garza, TSTC associate vice president of Student Learning.

Fernando Figueroa, director of the Engineering Division at TSTC, said that three important words TSTC students should consider when studying WBU options are “save big bucks” because a WBU degree could save tuition dollars as a result of the university’s transfer opportunities.

Muñiz invited TSTC alumni, former students and existing students to seek a WBU credit transfer evaluation. Information is available at www.sa.wbu.edu/rgv, calling him at 956.371.9545, or by contacting University Center Director Stephen Zarate at stephen.zarate@tstc.edu or 956.364.4535.

The main WBU campus is in Plainview, Texas, and the largest of its 13 campuses is San Antonio with an enrollment of almost 2,000. The university also operates an education center in McAllen. Total enrollment for WBU is about 7,000 including campuses in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico. It is one of eight universities in Texas among the Southern Baptist system.