TC students are among most likely in Texas to get a degree

College has highest completion rate for community colleges

Texarkana College is ranked highest in the state among public community colleges for student completion rates, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Recently released data from 2016 shows 39.2 percent of TC students completed a degree in four years. The average for all state community colleges is 24.6, with a 33.9 percent rate at public universities.

“We are the number one for completion for all 50 community colleges and that’s something to be really proud of,” TC President James Henry Russell said during Monday’s board of trustees meeting. “This is a clear marker of the dramatic impact that we’re having on some of the changes we’ve made in the last four or five years. The faculty, they’re doing so many things to help our students. They’re not dropping the rigor of the instruction, they’re just putting so many other opportunities out there for our students to be successful and helping them any way they can.”

In the past few years, TC has implemented several programs, including

the Quality Enhancement Plan, which includes the Connect: Start Smart—Finish Strong plan and the Learning Frameworks Course for first-year students, which teaches students study strategies and skills needed for academic success.

In other business, the board held a board workshop on the first draft of the 2017-18 budget. Kim Jones, TC’s vice president of finance, said the bare-bones budget is not complete, as they do not yet have the 2017 certified appraised values from the Bowie Central Appraisal District. Those will be available July 25. The proposed budget shows a total income of $40,427,535, with expenses totaling $38,453,093. The 2016-17 budget included income at $42,106,234 and expenses of $40,010,602. A second draft of the budget will be presented to the board in July and the board considering a final draft in August.

The board also elected Trustee Kaye Ellison as vice president. She takes the position following the April resignation of former Trustee Terry Taylor.