MCC, Tarleton, and Texas Tech Selected by Amazon as Education Partners
Dec. 1, 2022
McLennan Community College (MCC), Tarleton State University-Waco, and Texas Tech University have been selected as education partners for Amazon’s Career Choice program, which provides Amazon’s hourly employees access to associate degrees, certifications, bachelor’s degrees, and master’s degrees.
“McLennan Community College is pleased to partner with Amazon for the Amazon Career Choice program which will provide educational opportunity for our local citizens,” said MCC President Johnette McKown. “We desire to be a catalyst for our community members to invest in a better life for their families and to support economic development. This program is an example of the commitments by McLennan Community College, Tarleton State University-Waco and Texas Tech University to provide our community with an educated workforce. We look forward to our relationship with Amazon.”
Established in 1965, MCC was the first junior college in Texas to incorporate “community” in its name. With approximately 8,000 students per semester, McLennan offers over 140 degrees, certificates, and occupational skills awards at an affordable cost with flexible class schedules on a beautiful 275-acre campus adjacent to Cameron Park and the Bosque River. Learn more at www.mclennan.edu.
In 2001, MCC’s University Center was established to offer MCC students the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s or master’s degree on the MCC campus through distinguished partners like Tarleton State University and Texas Tech University. Students take their basic courses at MCC, seamlessly transfer those credits to a University Center partner, and complete a fully-accredited bachelor’s degree that is no different from the degrees earned at the university’s home campus. MCC’s University Center makes earning an affordable bachelor’s degree attainable without leaving McLennan county. Learn more at www.mclennan.edu/uc.
“We’re proud to partner with MCC to offer flexible academic programming for Amazon employees,” said Tarleton President James Hurley. “Collaborations like this perfectly complement our 123-year commitment to educational opportunity and access for all students. Amazon employees will advance their careers, and North Central Texas will prosper.”
Tarleton State University-Waco offers degree programs for working adults in a diverse range of fields with classes taking place in the evenings, daytime, weekends, and online. With over 1,000 students in 30 undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs, Tarleton-Waco offers degrees in fields like nursing, criminal justice, social work, education, business, computer information systems, and more. Learn more at www.tarleton.edu/waco.
“Our partnerships with McLennan and in Waco are strong," said Brian Still, vice provost for eLearning & Academic Partnerships at Texas Tech University. "It’s because of these strong partnerships that Texas Tech is joining this program in Waco. Amazon employees participating in the Career Choice program in the area can feel confident they are receiving a top-notch education.”
At its Waco regional site, Texas Tech University offers a student-centered atmosphere of a smaller college with the academic resources of a Carnegie ‘very high research activity university. Texas Tech, a Hispanic Serving Institution, serves more than 200 students with 16 majors and 27 minors offered for undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs on the MCC campus. Among other degree offerings, Texas Tech’s Waco site offers programs in high-demand fields such as communication studies, digital media and professional communication, sociology, biology, human sciences, education and public administration. Learn more at www.depts.ttu.edu/waco.
Amazon’s Career Choice program is an education benefit that empowers employees to learn new skills for career success at Amazon or elsewhere. The program meets individual learners where they are on their education journey through a variety of education and upskilling opportunities including pre-paid college tuition, industry certifications designed to lead to in-demand jobs, and foundational skills such as English language proficiency, high school diplomas, and GEDs. In the U.S., the company is investing $1.2 billion to upskill more than 300,000 employees by 2025 to help move them into higher-paying, in-demand jobs.
Amazon’s Career Choice program has a rigorous selection process for third-party partner educators, choosing partners that are focused on helping employees through their education programs, assisting them with job placements, and overall offering education that leads to career success.
“We’re looking forward to MCC, Tarleton State University-Waco, and Texas Tech University coming on board as an education partner for Career Choice, adding to the hundreds of best-in-class offerings available to our employees,” said Tammy Thieman, Global Program Lead of Amazon’s Career Choice program. “We’re committed to empowering our employees by providing them access to the education and training they need to grow their careers, whether that’s with us or elsewhere. We have intentionally created a partner network of third-party educators and employers committed to providing excellent education, job placement resources, and continuous improvements to the experience. Today, over 80,000 Amazon employees around the world have participated in Career Choice and we’ve seen first-hand how it can transform their lives.”
For more information on Amazon’s Career Choice, visit: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/workplace/career-choice.