A&M-Commerce
professor Bob Collins teaches entrepreneurial strategy at
Collin County Community College in McKinney.
The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is booming, particularly in Collin County, 30 miles to the northeast. The county, home to the cities of Plano, Frisco and McKinney, among others, is one of the fastest growing in the United States, making it a natural target market for Texas A&M University-Commerce.
A&M-Commerce, located about 60 miles northeast of Dallas-Fort Worth, is a popular university for community college transfer students and has partnered with Collin County Community College in the county seat of McKinney.
About 4,816 students are enrolled in A&M-Commerce courses in the metroplex, ranging from 2,337 in Mesquite to 13 in Midlothian.
This fall, A&M-Commerce is offering classes in both the bachelor of science in business administration program and the MBA program at the community college.
Hal
Langford
Dr. Hal Langford, dean of the College of Business and Technology at A&M-Commerce, said the move to McKinney follows an assessment by the college that showed a demand for classes in the area.
“McKinney is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country,” Langford said. “With the increase in gasoline prices and the high cost of traveling, we are trying to go to the places where students are so they don’t have to commute.
“A&M-Commerce is unusual in that it has a disproportionately large percentage of graduate students. We believe in being as user-friendly as possible, which is also why we offer some of our classes online.”
In addition, an associate’s degree in law enforcement, nursing, or fire science can be turned into a bachelor’s degree in applied arts and sciences degree offered by A&M-Commerce at Collin County Community College. The university has also partnered with Tarrant County College at its Southeast campus to offer this degree.
A&M-Commerce is one of the few universities in Texas to offer community college students the opportunity to convert a technical associate’s degree into a four-year university degree.
In addition, A&M-Commerce has started offering courses toward its MBA program at the Higher Education Center in Rockwall this fall.
“It’s going real well,” Langford said.
The programs are reasonably priced and offer exceptional value, according to Langford.
Stephen Freeman
The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International has accredited the A&M-Commerce MBA program. This accreditation is the hallmark of excellence in management education and is based on the quality of the program and the experience levels of faculty.
Langford said he will continue to work to provide top-quality graduate programs in multiple locations that are responsive to both student and employer needs. He also hopes that the moves will facilitate televising lectures for elective courses in other locations at the same time.
“The most interesting thing right now is our web-based courses. The numbers are wonderful—these courses are all full. We already have 19 people in a course we opened a week ago,” Langford said.
In further expansion into the metroplex, A&M-Commerce’s College of Education and Human Services has also started offering classes toward the master’s degree in counseling, with emphasis in school counseling, in Allen.
Dr. Stephen Freeman, head and professor of counseling who initiated the move, said, “Rather than having school buildings stand empty in the afternoon and evening, we have negotiated the use of school facilities in Allen in which to hold our classes.
“It makes sense to utilize facilities that would otherwise stand empty,” he said.
For more information about A&M-Commerce’s MBA degree in the metroplex, call (903) 886-5629 or visit the Graduate Programs website. For information on the school counseling program, call (903) 886-5637 or visit the Department of Counseling website.
Dallas skyline photo courtesy of the Dallas Visitors & Convention
Bureau
Photo of Bob Collins courtesy of Nick Young, Collin County Community College
Photos of Hal Langford and Stephen Freeman courtesy of A&M-Commerce