Texas Borer Business
By Joey Gomez
McALLEN, Texas – South Texas College has sped up the process for students who want to quickly complete a credential through the college’s technical programs by officially launching Competency-Based Education (CBE) courses for Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVACR), Electrician Technology and Construction Supervision programs.
CBE courses are designed to help a student earn a degree through an accelerated program that allows students to complete a course in seven weeks compared to the traditional 16-week structure.
The CBE model is geared to students who want to complete their education at their own pace, and is comprised of online classes and tests, which enable students to apply any previous knowledge in the working world into their college degree by testing out and then moving on to the next course in the program.
“This is the first CBE program that we have that is specific to technical programs. These are the programs that have more of a hands-on component to it even though we are testing students on theory as well,” said Joe Vela, STC Compliance and Accreditation liaison. “The beauty of it is, is that if the student finishes one course through the CBE model, they can test out and transition to the next course before the semester ends. This allows students to progress through the program at a more accelerated rate, which makes it more dependent on the student and how quickly they can progress through the program.”
Technical programs at STC currently add to the college’s nine CBE programs already in place including the Bachelor of Applied Technology in Computer and Information Technologies, Associate of Applied Science in Child Development and Early Childhood and Public Services Assistant Certificate and many more.
“In our case, the Electrician program CBE courses are great for students that have some electrical field experience and who are independent learners,” said Electrician Technology Instructor Samuel Solis. “CBE courses allow you to work at your own pace to complete the 7-week course early and our electrician CBE courses have a post-test to ensure program content rigor, which includes a hands-on portion.”
Instructors with STC’s HVACR program say the CBE courses are tailored for students who have experience in the HVAC field.
“Our certificate program traditionally takes two semesters, which is approximately nine months of schoolwork, but with the CBE format, a student can finish it within a semester,” said HVAC Instructor Jorge Martinez. “Because of this pace and rigor, we have to carefully evaluate any student who is interested in our CBE program in order to find out what their experience is in the field and then we go over some of the skills that they will be evaluated on just to make sure that they’re a candidate, otherwise we’ll recommend the more traditional pathway.”
Faculty with STC’s Construction Supervision program said the college welcomes working professionals who are eager to achieve the next stage in their careers.
“It’s super important to inform those who are already in the industry, but who don’t have the time, that we have made it easier. We have done a lot of work and it took us a long time to prepare for this, but now our students have the ability to do everything online, which alleviates the pressure of coming to class,” said Construction Supervision Instructor Israel Medrano. “If you’re a working professional in the industry, you are welcome to come in and take the class, test out and then move on to the next class. So, if you’re an industry leader or professional, we can help get you to where you want to be.”
For more information on STC’s CBE courses visit www.southtexascollege.edu/academics/cbe/
