FORT WORTH, Texas (Dec. 8, 2016) – Changing the face of online education and in response to many students’ needs to earn their degrees quickly, Tarrant County College has established a new accelerated academic course plan that enables students to take a smaller number of courses at a time, but still earn 12 hours by the end of the semester.
Beginning in spring 2017, TCC Connect Campus – the TCC campus responsible for eLearning and Weekend College – is offering current and prospective students the option to complete the Associate of Applied Science degree in Business Administration-Business completely online with eight-week classes.
“This opportunity is part of our commitment to address the needs of non-traditional students through our non-traditional campus,” said Carlos Morales, Ph.D., president of TCC Connect. “This eight-week, fast-track degree plan will provide students additional flexibility to plan their courses in a way that works around their overall schedules, while taking course content in a shorter period of time.”
The deadline for registration is Jan. 10 for the first eight-week session with classes meeting from Jan. 17 to March 10. The registration deadline for the second eight-week session, running from March 20 to May 12, is March 13.
One of the attractive aspects of the new option is that it contributes to students’ academic success.
“Research has shown that students are more successful in moving toward graduation when they take accelerated courses which allows them to maintain full-time status,” Morales said. “This format gives students the option of taking two courses every eight weeks and still meet financial aid requirements, eliminating student concerns about how to pay for classes.”
TCC Connect also offers 18 fully online programs, which include five associate degrees and 13 other certificate, Web-based programs. TCC Connect offered the first online Wintermester with 19 course sections for 570 students in 2016. The sections were popular, filling the first week they became available in November.
“The four-week Wintermester, offered during the winter break, also helps foster completion for students and will increase graduation rates by May 2017,” said Kelvin Bentley, Ph.D., vice president of Academic Affairs for TCC Connect.
With a digital course inventory of 350 courses, TCC Connect Campus offers more than 1,100 sections. Current online enrollment is approximately 20,000, with an additional 575 students enrolled in Weekend College, which has experienced a 273 percent increase from the 154 students enrolled in fall 2014.
TCC Connect students also have access to all of the Student Support Services available to students enrolled in traditional courses that meet face-to-face with professors from digital orientation to enrollment services. These services also include online advising, payment, library service, advising, tutoring and proctoring.
Originally launched in 2013 as an administrative division, TCC Connect received accreditation in October 2015 from the Southern Commission of College and School Commission on Colleges Association as Tarrant County College’s sixth campus. TCC Connect in October was ranked 10th in Texas among 173 colleges and universities offering online classes. The ranking was based on the most report from the National Center for Education Statistic’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.
