HCC, TSU deal smooths path to a degree

Houston Community College and Texas Southern University have inked a deal easing the transfer process into several bachelor degree programs at the historically Black university.

The agreement helps two-year degree graduates from HCC’s Drafting & Design Engineering Technology program transfer into TSU’s College of Science, Engineering and Technology, the institutions announced this week.

It also helps graduates from HCC’s English program transfer into TSU’s College of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences.

“This agreement allows Texas Southern to continue transforming lives of students interested in pursuing careers in critical STEM fields, such as industrial technology, and areas of education that are important in our nation,” TSU President Lesia Crumpton-Young said.

“Our cooperative effort with Houston Community College provides an accelerated pathway for students to earn a bachelor’s degree and ultimately serve the Houston region and the nation with the knowledge and experience they’ve gained.”

The partnership helps to increase the dismal percentage of community college students who earn a bachelor’s degree.

It’s estimated that less than 15 percent of community college students earn a bachelor’s within six years, based on 2021 data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

That’s largely because only about 30 percent of community college students manage to transfer to a four-year university, according to the statistics.

Under this deal, all credits earned by the eligible HCC graduates will automatically transfer to TSU after meeting the university’s admission requirements, school officials said.

The partnership plans to add more programs in the future.

“It’s a priority for HCC students to transfer to other higher-educational institutions, especially those fine universities in Texas, such as TSU,” HCC Chancellor Cesar Maldonado said. “With that said, this agreement offers HCC Design & Drafting Engineering Technology graduates access to an excellent opportunity to achieve their educational goals. We continue to hear reports of our students excelling beyond HCC. I am certain our students will continue that tradition at TSU.”