Published: December 01, 2008 08:49 am      

Money for college

TVCC, A&M Commerce announce scholarship money is available

Getting a bachelor’s degree without leaving home just got easier on the wallet.

Last spring Trinity Valley Community College and Texas A&M University-Commerce signed an agreement beginning a program which will allow students to take bachelor’s-level classes on TVCC campuses.

This month, TAMU-Commerce has announced that scholarship money is available for students entering that program.

“By offering scholarships, A&M-Commerce is helping us make getting a bachelor’s degree easier for working adults who might not otherwise have the funds to return to college,” said Jeremy McMillen, vice president of academic education and institutional planning at TVCC.

Later this week, administrators from Commerce will be at TVCC campuses to answer questions about the bachelor’s program and the scholarships available.

Students who are interested in applying for scholarships and getting into the bachelor’s program will have the opportunity this week to have their questions answered.

Administrators from TAMU will be on the TVCC-Athens and TVCC-Terrell campuses from 9:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Dec. 4.

Under the new scholarship program, a student who is taking just those two classes can qualify for a one-time $1,000 scholarship. A student who takes those two courses and two more classes online through TAMU-Commerce can be awarded an additional $1,300.

Administrators from TAMU say that program is designed to fit both working adults and traditional-age students who are interested in completing their bachelor’s degrees without leaving the area.

“It is very important for us to sit down with the students and advise them before they enter the program,” said Katrina Wilson, advisor for the BSBA program.

Beginning in January, Texas A&M-Commerce will offer classes for two degrees: bachelor’s of science in business administration and bachelor’s of applied arts and sciences.

Two bachelor’s-level classes will be offered on TVCC campuses in Palestine, Terrell and Athens each semester.

In order to enter the TAMU-Commerce program, a student must have at least 40 hours of community college credit and meet other transfer requirements. The advantage to enrolling in the TVCC program, said McMillen, is that students seeking a degree can potentially take the first 85 hours at TVCC (which offers the lowest tuition in the state) and then complete the last 36 hours with TAMU-Commerce at the university’s tuition rate.

“A student could possibly save thousands of dollars on their degree by taking more hours with TVCC,” said McMillen.

Each semester, two more courses will be offered at TVCC.

Although only two classes will be offered each semester at TVCC, all of the classes in the BSBA and the BAAS are offered online through TAMU-Commerce, so students in the program will be able to choose which classes they would like at TVCC and which courses they wish to take online.

For more information on the bachelor’s degree programs, call TVCC at 903-677-TVCC or log onto www.tvcc.edu and click on the bachelor’s degree button at the bottom of the page.

For information specifically about the scholarship program, log onto http://money4me.tamuc.com.