By Joel Langton
The 830 Times
Southwest Texas College is dreaming big as they roll out two new programs and prepare for an open house.
The college is expanding its career and technical education offerings this fall with new Welding and Construction Science programs designed to prepare students for high-demand careers while creating a seamless pathway from high school dual-credit classes to an associate’s degree — and eventually a bachelor’s degree.
The programs, which begin Aug. 17, will be housed in a new workforce training facility expected to be completed this summer. The price tag on the building is nearly $4 million dollars and should be finished by mid-July.
However, the open house is July 2 and will be held at the campus for future students and their families.
Armando Mondragon, dean of applied sciences at Southwest Texas College, said the expansion builds on the college’s partnership with San Felipe Del Rio CISD by allowing students who complete dual-credit technical courses in high school to continue their education without missing a step.
“We’re going to have Year One and Year Two welding,” Mondragon said. “Students are already able to earn their Level One certificate through the dual-credit programs. Now they’ll be able to come here seamlessly and continue into Level One Advanced and work toward their associate’s degree.”
New programs build on dual-credit success
The advanced welding curriculum will focus on skills used in industrial settings, including advanced welding practices and pipe welding.
“They’re going to learn the kinds of skills you see out in the oil fields and other industries that require advanced welding,” Mondragon said.
The college is also introducing a Construction Science program that extends well beyond traditional carpentry instruction.
Students will receive training in blueprint reading, electrical work, plumbing and other construction trades while also learning leadership skills intended to prepare them for supervisory positions or eventually operating their own businesses.
“It’s not just building a wall anymore,” Mondragon said. “These students learn electricity, plumbing and blueprint reading. It’s bottom-up construction skills.”
He said the program is designed to develop future construction leaders as well as skilled tradespeople.
“We’ve structured it so students aren’t just learning the skills to build. At some point they’ll hopefully be able to run their own business. This is the beginning of that,” he said.
Pathway extends beyond an associate’s degree
One of the college’s long-term goals is creating an educational pathway that allows students to continue advancing their education without losing credit for technical coursework.
Pending approval by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Southwest Texas College plans to launch a Bachelor of Applied Science in Organizational Leadership and Management in January.
Unlike many traditional bachelor’s degree programs, the applied science degree is designed specifically for students who earn Associate of Applied Science degrees in technical fields.
That means graduates of welding, construction science and other applied science programs can continue toward a bachelor’s degree without repeating years of coursework.
“If someone has an associate’s degree in welding and owns their own business right now, they would be able to come here and work toward their bachelor’s degree,” Mondragon said. “They lose nothing.”
Connie W. Buchanan, vice president of the Del Rio Campus at Southwest Texas College, compared earning an associate’s degree to reaching a “save point” in a video game.
If students leave school for several years before returning, completing an associate’s degree preserves their academic progress and can save both time and money.
“A lot of people say you don’t need an associate’s degree,” Buchanan said. “But if you’re a part-time student and you come back years later, that associate’s degree can make a big difference.”
Buchanan said she left college and then returned, and experienced the joy of not having to retake classes, which would have happened if she hadn’t earned her associate’s.
Students who complete dual-credit technical programs while still in high school may be able to shorten the time needed to earn both an associate’s and bachelor’s degree.
Southwest Texas College will host its “Stars, Stripes and Success” Open House from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 2 at the Del Rio campus, 207 Wildcat Drive.
The event will give prospective students and their families an opportunity to tour the campus, meet with faculty and staff, ask questions about academic programs, register for classes and submit enrollment documents. Free hot dogs will be available during the event.
Classes for both the Welding and Construction Science programs begin Aug. 17.
