Special to The Dallas Examiner
DCCCD to offer first bachelor’s degree
State Sen. Royce West and Rep. Helen Giddings filed bills to address the shortage of early childhood teachers in the North Texas area. Ultimately, language from their bills was added to SB 2118 by Sen. Kel Seliger. This legislation will provide a solution to the shortage of more than 4,000 early childhood education teachers in Dallas County.
“Students in our area now can choose a quality, affordable bachelor’s degree in early childhood education,” said Dr. Joe May, the Dallas County Community College District’s chancellor. “It also supports the governor’s goal to provide quality pre-kindergarten for our youngest Texans, and it comes at no additional fiscal cost for the state.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed SB 2118 into law June 12, allowing DCCCD to offer a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education – its first four-year degree.
“We are excited to offer this choice and also to solve a shortage that has limited the number of youngsters who were allowed access to pre-K programs in Dallas County because there weren’t enough teachers,” May said.
The bill also allows several other community colleges in the state to offer a baccalaureate degree in applied science, applied technology or nursing.
DCCCD now will work with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to establish an education pathway for early childhood education in the district. DCCCD colleges already have child development programs in place and can offer the new bachelor’s degree once the specific curriculum and requirements are established and have been approved by the THECB.
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools also will be involved in the accreditation process for the new degree, including faculty credentials, expanded library offerings and other criteria.
The entire process will take approximately three to four years.
PQU partners with Lyft
Lyft and Paul Quinn College reached an agreement June 13 to become the exclusive partners in providing ride shares for the school’s work, making the first time Lyft has collaborated with a Historically Black College and University.
One percent of every Paul Quinn ride will be donated back to its work program to further invests in the students and program. The partnership will also provide safe transportation from the campus to various partner locations around the Metroplex for internships.
For more information, visit http://pqc.edu.
SWAC ends champion games
(AP) – The Southwestern Athletic Conference has decided to end its annual football championship game following the 2017 season.
The winner of the SWAC’s regular-season title will now go directly to the Celebration Bowl and play against the winner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl was created in 2015.
SWAC Commissioner Duer Sharp said in a release that “by focusing on the Celebration Bowl, we can continue to grow the AFRCB as an (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) classic for the teams and fans of both conferences and for HBCU football nationally.”
The SWAC championship game has been played since 1999. The conference said it will work with SWAC members to develop a tie-breaker procedure and deal with schedule changes that might arise from the new format.