NEW GRADS — Tameka Mitchell (third from left) and Monica Jacobo, both of Dallas, took classes in the A&M-Commerce undergraduate business program offered at the Universities Center at Dallas. Mitchell, Jacobo, and Audrey McBride of Dallas (not pictured) are the first UCD students to complete their bachelor’s degrees from A&M-Commerce. They received bachelor of science degrees in business administration at Spring Commencement exercises on May 13 at A&M-Commerce. With the students are A&M-Commerce President Keith McFarland (left), UCD Executive Director Edward Pauley, and Dr. Edgar Manton (right), head of the A&M-Commerce department of general business and systems management.

A&M-Commerce awarded bachelor’s degrees on May 13 to three students who have been enrolled at the Universities Center at Dallas.

Monica Jacobo, Tameka Mitchell and Audrey McBride took courses in their major for a bachelor of science degree in business administration at the downtown Dallas center. A&M-Commerce is a member school at the UCD, established in 1994 at the old Joske’s Building, located at 1901 Main St.

The three Dallas students received their diplomas in the College of Business and Technology graduation at 11 a.m. May 13 at A&M-Commerce. They are the first undergraduate UCD students to receive their degrees, executive director Edward Pauley said.

May 13 was a big day for the students and their families. The students’ graduation is also a high point for A&M-Commerce and its participation in the UCD.

"We are gratified to have been able to help these students achieve their educational goals of completing a bachelor’s degree. We are confident that our participation in the Universities Center at Dallas will meet a need for higher education in the Dallas metroplex," A&M-Commerce President Keith McFarland said.

Pauley commended Dr. Edgar Manton, head of the A&M-Commerce general business and systems management department, for coordinating the B.S.B.A. degree at UCD.

A&M-Commerce is the lead university offering business degrees at the downtown Dallas site. Also offering courses in the program are Texas Woman’s University and the University of North Texas.

"Dr. Manton brought all of the partner universities together, designed the sequence of course offerings, and counseled all of the majors in the program. His vision and energy will bear much fruit in the changed lives of adult students who complete their undergraduate business degrees at the UCD in the years to come," Pauley remarked.

Manton pointed out that A&M-Commerce is offering a program nationally accredited by AACSB: The International Association for Management Education to downtown Dallas businesses and their employees.

Students, who work downtown and are taking the upper-level undergraduate business courses taught at UCD, have definitely taken on a challenge, the A&M-Commerce department head said.

Manton commended Jacobo, Mitchell, and McBride for "pushing themselves" to be both full-time employees and full-time students. "They’ve dedicated themselves to getting their degrees," he said noting the three students took more courses than he anticipated and in some cases were also enrolled in community colleges for the basic freshman and sophomore courses that they needed.

For Jacobo, Mitchell, and McBride, UCD offered the major advantage of convenience. The three women work and live close to downtown Dallas and took courses at UCD after finishing their workday.

"UCD is only 10 minutes from my job," points out Mitchell, director of operations for MedJewels Management Company, a medical billing and physician staff management company.

For Jacobo who works at TXU located in downtown Dallas, UCD is walking distance from her job. "When I began this program in the Fall Semester of 1998, it was the only one that I knew of actually in the city limits of Dallas," she said.

"I did not care to drive out to Denton, Arlington, Richardson, or Commerce on a regular basis to attend one of the surrounding public universities, especially not in 5 o’clock traffic which is the time I get off from work," Jacobo commented.

For McBride, UCD is five minutes from work and 15 minutes from her home. She works in accounts receivable at Greyhound Lines Inc., and had attended college in Commerce several years ago.

An A&M-Commerce student from August 1977 through May 1981, McBride explained that many of the UCD students are older. "The instructors are really helpful and realize that we are non-traditional students with special needs. Most of my classmates have been out of school for a while and need special attention," she commented.

When McBride received her diploma on May 13, she achieved a goal that has taken years for her to reach. "This is my third attempt at finishing my degree," she said, adding she has also taken courses at the University of Texas at Dallas and a community college.

Mitchell and Jacobo have also taken courses at several other colleges and community colleges in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. These two students say they plan to work on a master’s degree next.

Jacobo, who hopes her degree will open doors for advancement with TXU, added that she had enjoyed attending UCD because it has a lower student-teacher ratio in comparison to that of a four-year university. "Most of the UCD instructors are able to interact with the students on a one-to-one basis and actually get to know the students by name instead of just their social security number, which can be the case at a larger university," she said.

The three students praised A&M-Commerce for its efforts in helping the concept of UCD get off the ground and for its faculty who were helpful to them. "I must commend the efforts of A&M-Commerce to make UCD work. I feel with stronger marketing efforts the campus will be a definite success. There is no way that I would be completing my degree requirements this soon if the UCD campus did not exist," Mitchell commented.

For information on UCD, call the center at (214) 915-1900 or refer to the A&M-Commerce Home Page on the Internet at HtmlResAnchor http://www.tamu-commerce.edu and click on the Graduate School.