|
A newsletter for the students, faculty and staff of the Collin College. Published monthly. For information or submissions, call 972.599.3142. Cougar News welcomes student and faculty submissions. Next deadline: August 10. All submissions are due by 5 p.m. on the due date. Photos cannot be returned. Text should be emailed to mrobinson@ccccd.edu or sent on disk. Please submit copy that is proofed, edited and saved in Word format. Cougar News staff: Lisa Vasquez, director; Mark Robinson, editor; Marcy Cadena-Smith, contributor; Dana Schmitz, special contributor; Sydney Portilla-Diggs, student correspondent; Stephanie Hall, student correspondent; Elaine Stewart, special contributor; Nick Young, photography and layout
|  |
|
|
Future educator streamlines her avenue to the classroom with University Partnerships
By Dana Schmitz
Special Contributor
 |
| Tara Faustman | Tara Faustmann plans to spend a lifetime showing kids that two plus two equals four; she wants to be a teacher. But this future teacher is applying that simple math lesson to her college education.
Faustmann is part of the university pre-admission program. The program streamlines the transfer process for qualified students who plan to attend certain universities. Through the program, she will spend two years at Collin College and two years at a university. The result is a four-year degree. When she graduated from Allen High School in December 2005, Faustmann already knew that she wanted a teaching degree.
“I’ve always wanted to teach,” Faustmann said. “I still remember certain teachers who really made an impact on my life. I want to make that sort of difference.”
Faustmann, however, wanted to stay close to home while pursuing her degree.
“I wanted a college with a small class size and supportive atmosphere,” Faustmann said. “Plus, I didn’t like the idea of parties that some students get into when they go far away.”
That is when Faustmann found out about the university pre-admission programs at Collin College. Through special partnerships with Texas colleges, students like Faustmann can start their education locally and ensure that their credits will transfer seamlessly to a university.
The college currently has partnerships with Southern Methodist University, Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Texas Tech University, Texas Woman’s University, The University of Texas at Dallas and the University of North Texas. This spring, the college added an eighth partnership agreement to the list – Baylor Bound – an opportunity for students planning to attend Baylor University. Students can readily transfer to non-partner universities, but pre-admissions programs offer additional benefits to transfer students. Some programs include opportunities for scholarships and tickets to cultural and athletic events.
Students in the new Baylor Bound program receive information about scholarships for transfer students, have access to a Baylor academic advisor prior to transferring from Collin College and are able to register early for summer and fall classes. Other perks include the ability to attend the earliest transfer orientation session, interlibrary book loans from the Baylor library system and more.
“Pre-admission is a tremendous opportunity for Collin College students to streamline the process of earning an associate and bachelor’s degree,” said Brenda Kihl, associate vice president of strategic initiatives. “Through the program, Collin College students have direct access to university representatives and get an early start on planning for a successful university transfer.”
For students like Faustmann, the pre-admission program is just one more benefit of attending Collin College.
“I love being here. I love the class size. I love the professors,” Faustmann said. “I’ve had the opportunity to take some really interesting electives. Last semester I took Radio/TV Announcing. I’ve also taken a class on creative drama for kids. It has been great that I can take my basics and some really fun electives.”
Faustmann plans to complete her associate degree this fall, then transfer to UNT. With the Collin College pre-admission program she is able to focus on her studies instead of worrying about her next step.
“It is reassuring that I don’t have to worry about my credits transferring,” Faustmann said. “Plus, I feel like I am getting one step ahead in the transfer process.”
When she finishes her bachelor’s degree at UNT, she hopes to return to teach in Collin County. She is already passing along her knowledge to Collin County children, hoping that they can benefit from the lesson she has learned about higher education.
“I always tell younger kids that Collin College is a great school,” she said. “Everyone is helpful and the small class size makes it easy to learn. There is always something to do and there are a lot of academic programs to choose from. I definitely recommend it.”
For more information about the university pre-admission programs, including the new Baylor Bound agreement, and other transfer opportunities, visit http://transferu.ccccd.edu or call Transfer Programs at 972.985.3734.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
|
|
|
