Summer 2016 Newsletter from Trustee Adriana Tamez
Jul 13, 2016
Dear Neighbors,
So many exciting things are happening at HCC and I am proud to share a few highlights with you.
A focus on helping students complete their awards and degrees, combined with conservative spending habits, has allowed HCC to reduce the amount that it budgets to spend per student completer by 36% from 2009 to 2016 (see chart in pdf download below).
- HCC has enacted no general tuition or fee increase since 2011.
- The HCC property tax rate is lower than the tax rate for 46 of the 50 community colleges in Texas.
- HCC has steadily grown its unrestricted fund balance, available for emergencies, since 2011.
- A compensation study to ensure market level pay for employees was finalized in 2015 and a three year plan of raises began in 2016.
- In addition to its regularly scheduled payments, HCC aggressively paid off $12 million of debt over the past 12 months.
Since the first grand opening of the Engineering Center of Excellence at the Alief-Hayes Campus earlier this year, we have invited business, industry, and community leaders to seven additional events, showcasing the educational offerings, state-of-the-art equipment and opportunities available at HCC:
- Consumer Arts & Sciences
- Health Sciences
- Logistics
- Digital & Information Technology
- Business
- Media Arts
- Construction
The HCC Construction Center of Excellence, located right here in District III, offers programs in Construction Technology; Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration; and Industrial Electricity. Young men and women are learning diverse skills that they will be able to put to use immediately in our local workforce. These students are also receiving financial support in the form of a $20,000 gift from Manhattan Construction Company to establish a scholarship that will fund the cost of tuition, fees, and books.
The next grand opening is the Material Science Center of Excellence on August 31 at the Eastside Campus.
I am honored to represent District III and proud to report on the good work that is being done with your support.
We are Houston’s Community College.
In service,
Dr. Adriana Tamez
HCC Board of Trustees
Chair, District III
Download: Summer 2016 Trustee Newsletter - Adriana Tamez