Occupational Skills Achievement Award

Occupational Skills Awards (OSA) enable students to receive recognition (not designated on transcripts) for entry-level employment or industry-recognized certification or licensure. TVCC has implemented stackable credentials that allow students to enroll in an occupational skills award, which builds into a certificate of completion program and into the corresponding associate degree program.

The OSA is a sequence of courses that meet the minimum standard for program length specified by the Texas Workforce Commission for the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) program (9-14 SCH for credit courses or 144-359 contact hours for workforce continuing education courses).

An OSA must possess the following characteristics:

  1. The credential is TSI-waived under THECB Rule 4.54b;
  2. The content of the credential must be recommended by an external workforce advisory committee, or the occupation must appear on the Local Workforce Development Board’s High Demand Occupations list;
  3. In most cases, the credential should be composed of WECM courses only;
  4. The credential complies with the Single Course Delivery guidelines for WECM courses (see Chapter Four); and
  5. The credential prepares students for employment in accordance with guidelines established for WIOA. 

In order to be eligible for an OSA award, students must:

  1. Complete the prescribed curriculum for the OSA as outlined in this catalog.