Last week, a joint initiative formed in 2011 to help Texas community colleges award veteran students with academic credit for military service was given a major boost.
The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) announced a grant of $1.5 million in support of the College Credit for Heroes (CCH) program.
This workforce development grant is expected to help 10 community colleges across Texas widen access to academic degrees for the state’s veteran students.
“I am proud of the progress the College Credit for Heroes initiative has made in the effort to tap into the skills of Texas’ veterans and translate their experience into college credits,” Gov. Rick Perry said in a press release.
Texas, home to approximately 1.8 million veterans who served in recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, has nearly 25,000 veterans return home each year. The state is currently vastly below its targets to meet the Lumina Foundation’s goal of 60 percent completion among working-age adults by 2025, and is on track to have a completion rate of 40 percent.
Only 35.2 percent of Texas adults currently hold a post-secondary credential.
“This is something that allows us to standardize experience for veterans and give them college credit for that experience; giving them a leg up really in getting a certification, on the way to a career,” TWC Spokeswoman Lisa Givens said in a press release.
The new partner institutions that have joined the program will help expand the initiative across Texas and support a larger number of veteran students.
“We have made it one of our primary goals to support veteran workforce programs to help ease veterans’ transition to civilian life,” TWC Chairman Andres Alcantar said in a press release. “The addition of new partner colleges and universities to College Credit for Heroes will enhance academic and employment opportunities for our Texas heroes.”
