AC Board of Regents approves establishment of Education Credit Union on Washington Street campus

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - The partnership between Amarillo College and Education Credit Union will establish a full-service, student-run branch on the Washington Street campus to serve students and the public.

“We’re going to lease them an existing building that we have on campus. And they’re going to remodel it and turn it into a branch campus for us. So our students will have access to it. The community will have access to it and it will be a really nice building that will compliment our campus,” said Chris Sharp, vice president of business affairs at Amarillo College.

The goal is to provide AC students with hands-on learning opportunities in the finance industry.

“Exposure to the financial industry, the banking industry, is something that many of our students lack,” said Mark White, executive vice president and general counsel at Amarillo College.

The partnership also includes the introduction of Badger Smart, much like West Texas A&M University’s program Buff Smart.

“Badger Smart is a really good curriculum that they’ve written. They’ll come and teach it to our students and it’s all about financial literacy,” said Sharp.

The branch will have drive ups, a lobby, offices and will be run entirely by students.

“Our students will be able to work in kind of an earn-and-learn type setting. They will get a lot of banking knowledge, but not only that, just real world knowledge,” said Sharp.

Education Credit Union at Amarillo College is set to open next spring.

“We are honored to partner with Amarillo College and eager to serve the Amarillo College community with a full-service, student-run retail branch. This partnership will create many hands-on opportunities for AC students to gain invaluable experience in the workplace,” said Marcus Smith, president and CEO of Education Credit Union.

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