UTA accepts hours
by Shannon Harrison, managing editor

    Students taking technical courses and interested in attending UTA can transfer credits that previously would not have counted.

   The University of Texas at Arlington signed an articulation agreement with three Texas community college districts and two community colleges last month.

   This agreement will allow students earning an associate of applied science degree to transfer 24 hours of technical coursework to UTA. The coursework is in areas that will not only help students earn a four-year degree, but also find jobs in businesses and industries where Texas needs workers.

   The jobs would consist of allied health, informational technologies and business professionals.

   The coursework will be applied toward a UTA Interdisciplinary Studies (INTS) degree.

   “This is a way for scores of community college students who have taken technical courses to see the capacity of university work and not lose what they have earned,” Dr. Cubie Ward, director of INTS said.

   INTS allows students to develop an individualized degree plan in accordance with their academic and career goals.

   “It’s a good move not only for the colleges, but also for the state of Texas, in producing an educated workforce,” he said.

   Students who earn credits in web page design, networking, programming languages, radiology, sonography, electrocardiography, entrepreneurship, leadership and management can apply many of these courses to their INTS degree plan.

   The plan should also aid a smooth transition leading high school students into TCC, then on to UTA and ultimately into area businesses and industries.