A&M-Texarkana Announces New Educational Partnership with Texarkana Aluminum, Inc.

TEXARKANA, Texas – Texas A&M University-Texarkana and TCI Texarkana, Inc. dba Texarkana Aluminum, Inc. have entered a new academic partnership that will allow Texarkana Aluminum employees to take courses at the university at a discounted rate. The partnership was officially launched with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on January 22, 2024. The signing ceremony took place on the Texas A&M University-Texarkana campus.

"We are proud to add Texarkana Aluminum as a priority workforce partner," said A&M President Dr. Ross Alexander. "We will not only provide a pathway to degree attainment for their employees, but we will also collaborate directly with them to craft innovative curricula in Industrial and Metallurgical Engineering."

“We are looking towards the collaboration with TAMUT to develop the core of graduates that Texarkana Aluminum needs to build an ecosystem in aluminum product manufacturing in the region,” said Ian Smith, Chief Operating Officer at Texarkana Aluminum. “We are thankful for the spirit of cooperation and enthusiasm of Dr. Alexander and his team. We look forward to supporting the development of the program, rolling it out to our employees, and welcoming students for experiential learning.”

Under the terms of the new partnership all full-time employees of Texarkana Aluminum will receive a discount of 25% tuition discount on all undergraduate, graduate, certificate, or micro-credential programs delivered in-person, online, or through a hybrid format. The agreement also waives the standard application fee. In addition to the tuition discount, any eligible employee who is a new student at the university will receive the First Flight Scholarship, which gives the new student their first class free if they are enrolled in at least 6 hours at the undergraduate or graduate level.

Employees wishing to take advantage of the new partnership must meet the admissions standards of the program to which they apply and must remain in good academic standing. For additional information about this and additional academic partnerships please visit the university website at www.tamut.edu/partnerships.