Concordia Joins EWCHEC
Directors continue to build multi-institutional center

Officials of the East Williamson County Higher Education Center announced Wednesday afternoon the school’s partnership with Concordia University Texas, yet another name on a growing list of distinguished institutions, including Texas Tech University, Texas State Technical College - Waco, Legacy Early College High School and Temple College, the group’s lead institution.

“We’re excited,” EWCHEC Executive Dean Chuck McCarter said. “We’re adding a new dimension to our (Multi-Institutional Teaching Center).”

Members of the Temple College at Taylor Foundation, Representative Diana Maldonado and administrators from Concordia attended the meeting to share their words on the partnership. A legislative reception honoring the lawmakers who helped secure funding for the center was held at Taylor Mansion following the announcement.

“Higher education is the cornerstone for success in our communities and throughout our state, and I believe the collaboration between EWCHEC and Concordia University will be a great benefit to the students and businesses in East Williamson County,” Maldonado said in a news release.

Concordia will bring to EWCHEC further educational opportunities to help provide students with tools necessary to gain skills to enter the workforce as trained professionals. While Concordia administration will at first conduct a community assessment to determine what the local educational needs are, McCarter does have an idea of what he’d like to see.

“I envision them doing some kind of master’s level program that will be a hybrid in which they will be doing distance learning and on-site learning,” McCarter said. “The particular program might be some kind of public school certification, and ESL certification, something like that.”

McCarter is also curious about Concordia’s Accelerated Degree Program, or ADP, where students may attend class more days during the week like in a traditional program, enabling them to earn their degrees more quickly. Such a program would fall in line with EWCHEC’s paradigm of accelerated learning to help prepare youth for the workforce as quickly as possible.

The partnership of more institutions will not stop with the addition of Concordia. McCarter will continue to seek partnerships with other major universities where there is a need for some kind of program they offer. Current prospects include Texas A&M-Central Texas and possibly The University of Texas.

“We’ve had no talks with UT, but we have had some interesting long-range discussions,” McCarter said. “We’re moving in that direction. We’re open to partnering with any institution that will benefit EWCHEC. We’re always looking for partners.”

In spite of legislation that was passed earlier in the year to aid in the funding and development of EWCHEC, administrators are still looking for acceptable lenders to fund the construction of the MITC’s flagship building. There is no projected date on when groundbreaking will occur, McCarter said.