CC Regents vote to expand degree offerings

Clarendon College students in three workforce programs will have more paths to choose from following action taken by the Board of Regents last Thursday, July 17.

CC currently offers certifications in HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning), vocational nursing, and welding. But the administration proposed and regents approved offering Associate of Applied Science degrees in those programs.

“This will give our students another avenue to pursue,” said CC President Robert Riza.

The AAS degrees will require students to take more core curriculum classes but will let them pursue Bachelor of Applied Science degrees at senior institutions.

On a related note, Dr. Riza also reported that CC had signed an articulation agreement with Texas Tech University that will let CC students bound for Tech access the university’s advisors, pursue eligible BAAS degrees, and allow students completing at least 48 hours at Clarendon before going to Lubbock to reverse transfer hours and receive an associate’s degree from CC.

In other college business, regents approved a schedule of course fees for the new nursing program that prepares students to become registered nurses.

Regents also approved an overload pay schedule, accepted a bid from the Baker Agency on athletic insurance, approved purchasing equipment for the nursing program – infant mannequins and birthing simulators – paid for by a Title III grant, and held a short closed door meeting to discuss personnel.

The board ratified the hiring of Dr. Edward Caraway as a biology instructor in Pampa and of Michael Metcalf as the bookstore manager / athletic insurance coordinator. Resignations were acknowledged from financial aid assistant Shelby Huff and custodian Sonia Martinez at the CC Pampa Center, Childress Center Director Scott Mills, and custodian Tony Baird.

In his president’s report, Riza gave an update on new bleachers that will be installed this fall in the Bulldog Gym, discussed plans for a budget workshop on July 31, and talked about a meeting he attended in Amarillo with elected state officials regarding the collaborative work Clarendon has done with Amarillo College and Frank Phillips College in Borger.

Riza also said CC has signed an agreement with AC regarding Clarendon’s cosmetology program in that city and authorizing the college to offer cosmetology classes for dual credit in Amarillo ISD’s high schools.