MAKING THE CUT

COSMETOLOGY ADDS AN ASSOCIATE DEGREE & BARBERING HAS A BOOM

With a growing roster of new dual credit possibilities and the recent launch of a new Cosmetology Operator to Class A Barber Crossover program, NCTC’s vocational Cosmetology department is a hotbed of activity at the college’s Gainesville campus.

But the biggest news flowing out of the humbly-sized-but-bustling department is the recent decision to include the Barbering program in the pathway to earning an Associate of Applied Science degree in Cosmetology for Fall 2020. Previously the Barber courses were offered only as an Occupational Skills Award with 11 credit hours and didn’t meet the criteria for financial aid assistance. Now, it is still offered as an OSA but is also included as a pathway to a recently-approved AAS degree in Cosmetology, which also means financial aid is available to those who qualify.

NCTC’s Human Services and Hospitality chair Stephanie Lindsey notes that men’s grooming has made a big comeback in recent years – representing a $26 billion industry, according to The National Association of Barber Boards of America – so the availability of the Class A Barber Crossover program will go a long way toward increasing graduates’ job prospects.

Once Cosmetology students become licensed Cosmetology Operators in the state of Texas, Lindsey says they can enroll in the Barbering program. Classes are held two days a week – currently Mondays and Tuesdays – and the16-week curriculum entails 300 clock hours and 11 semester credit hours. Initially, the Barbering Occupational Skills Award was introduced as a fall semester offering, but in 2021, Lindsey expects it to be offered in the spring as well.

NCTC is one of the first community colleges in the state to offer a Barbering program, and Bea Gutierrez-Gonzalez, owner of Style Avenue in Gainesville, says she was “surprised and excited” when she heard of the new offering. As a member of the Cosmetology department’s advisory board, she says the extra training can only enhance students’ marketability.

Bea Gutierrez-Gonzalez

Case in point, a newcomer in her shop is recent graduate Nancy Rodriguez, who completed the Cosmetology dual credit program at Sanger High School and continued on to finish the Barbering OSA coursework in December. Now Rodriguez rents a booth at Style Avenue and will bring barbering services – and male clients – to the salon for the first time.

“She’s just waiting for her license,” Gutierrez-Gonzalez says, “and then we’ll have these extra services to offer.”

Much of Cosmetology’s activity comes from the department’s dual credit program which is available to all Cooke County school districts, with partnerships operating in high schools in Gainesville, Sanger, Era, Valley View, Aubrey and Callisburg. Lindsey says there’s a homeschooler program as well. In addition, Lindsey says school officials in several Denton County cities have expressed an interest – specifically Aubrey, Pilot Point and Krum.

Nancy Rodriguez

For more information, contact Stephanie Lindsey at slindsey@nctc.edu and (940) 668-3314 or division coordinator, Keilah Marcom, at kmarcom@nctc.edu and (940) 668-3341.