TEEX safety courses available for college credit

The Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), San Juan College (SJC) and Texas A&M University-Commerce, and New Mexico Occupational Health & Safety Bureau (NM OSHA)held a signing ceremony on Tuesday, July 29, announcing a new cooperative degree plan.

The agreement will allow students who have earned their TEEX Certified Safety and Health Official (CSHO) certificate to transfer up to 18 credits to the SJC Associate of Applied Science in Occupational Safety (A.A.S.) online degree program.

The SJC School of Energy will also be the first Cooperative Learning Center in Region VI for TEEX, OSHA Training Institute-Southwest Education Center in Mesquite, Texas, allowing the SJC School of Energy to teach OSHA training in the San Juan Basin.

All of the 71 credit hours required for the A.A.S. degree and up to 85 total SJC credit hours will transfer to Texas A&M University-Commerce, meaning students need to earn only an additional 36 credit hours to complete their BAAS degree.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to grow both personally and professionally,” said David Milligan, director of TEEX’s OSHA training center. “Not only is the TEEX CSHO professional certificate recognized by the Council on Certification of Health, Environmental and Safety Technologists, it is now recognized by San Juan College towards an accredited associate of applied science degree in safety. Our students can pursue their safety degree online at their own pace. Many of our students are eligible for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs funding or funding through their employer. This is a great way for employers to invest in their employees who, in turn, will help reduce accidents in the workplace as well as reduce the costs associated with accidents.”

Students can begin taking classes through San Juan College’s Associate of Applied Science in Occupational Safety degree program in the fall 2008 semester, which starts August 25.