EPCC students majoring in architecture no longer need to move 343-miles away from home to complete their undergraduate studies.
Starting this semester, after years of negotiation, the Texas Tech School of Architecture in Lubbock, has implemented a joint architecture program with EPCC.
The new partnership “allows El Paso architecture students to be able to save money and stay at home in El Paso and get their bachelor’s degree,” said Ken Gorski, EPCC architecture instructor and discipline coordinator.
Eighteen students, who received their
Associate of Arts in Architecture, enrolled in
junior level courses at EPCC this semester.
In the spring, they would be able to attend the program’s senior level.
Upon completing 65 curriculum hours, these students will then be awarded the Bachelor of Science in Architecture.
The masterminds of this major decision were a variety of academic presidents, deans and instructors at EPCC and TTU.
A new director position was created to coordinate between the two colleges.
“I am grateful for the partnership between El Paso Community College and Texas Tech, because it is essential for the establishment of a dynamic program,” said Nicholas Markovich, Ph.D., the program’s new director.
The Outreach and Distance Education program at TTU was also involved in the project, which seeks to give students the opportunity to stay in their residential area while taking Texas Tech courses.
Texas Tech has provided some studio furniture and a plotting machine to EPCC. There’s a 3-D interactive classroom in the Advanced Technology Center, located near the baseball field, which allows students to participate in live courses at TTU.
A Texas Tech banner flies outside of portable classroom number 24, which is the headquarters of TTU at VV.
Although UTEP does not have an architecture program, EPCC initially contacted them to propose a partnership that would have expanded the university’s curriculum.
“If UTEP wanted to, they could have established a school of architecture, but they said no,” said Gorski.
He said Texas Tech was chosen because it was the closest architecture program to El Paso and that most students in this field attend the Lubbock school.
“I think it’s easier for me, less expensive, and it’s closer to home,” said Debbie Molina, a sophomore, when asked about taking TTU courses at EPCC.
However, Molina doesn’t believe that the facilities at EPCC compare to those of Texas Tech.
“If EPCC doesn’t get a specialized library designed for architecture students, I’ll consider going to Texas Tech,” said Molina.
Edgar Lopez, a junior, disagrees, stating that the difference between the two colleges is not significant.
“There’s nothing that we can’t find here. We don’t need more than what EPCC has to offer,” said Lopez.
Gorski feels the library’s architectural resources are adequate.
“We have a pretty good section in the library,” said Gorski, who added that in the future, this dynamic curriculum may not end with just an undergraduate program.
“There’s even remote talk about the possibility of bringing a graduate school to EPCC, but it’s still in the dream stage,” he said.
The profession of architecture is strict in that although students receive their bachelor’s of science, they still can’t get licensed.
Federal law requires a master’s degree and three years of internship. Afterwards, students must take a national licensing exam.
“Architects receive the same prestige as lawyers and doctors because of the amount of education they must gain before practice,” said Gorski. “You can actually become a lawyer before becoming an architect!”
He further explains the architect’s responsibility.
“Protecting people’s lives is top priority. [Architecture] is not mainly about making pretty buildings,” he said.
Gorski’s next agenda item is to allow students to take educational summer trips to Europe.
