Transformation at HCC strengthens the Houston workforce

Sep 30, 2016

Houston Community College Chancellor, Dr. Cesar Maldonado, has one goal — preparing students to enter the workforce.

“Students come to Houston Community College not just to learn but to earn a degree. Higher education leads to better jobs and a stronger workforce in Houston.”

HCC — which has an unduplicated enrollment of 114,288 this year — has been ranked number one in the nation based on the latest statistics from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and reported by Community College Week magazine. Among the 1,905 community colleges included in the national review, HCC is No. 1 for awarding Associate degrees to all minorities; No. 1 for awarding Associate degrees in liberal arts; and No. 1 for international enrollment, with over 5,200 students representing 151 nationalities.

Under Maldonado’s leadership over the past 18 months, HCC has undergone a strategic transformation, consolidating 23 campuses into 13 “Centers of Excellence” where students can not only focus on quality academics but on workforce education as well. These changes have increased HCC’s capacity to serve the community with technical and academic programs, increase accountability at all levels of the organization, increase external funding opportunities through grants and other non-traditional sources, and increase student success rates.

As a result of these efforts, Associate Degree completions at HCC are up 20 percent, and several programs have a 100 percent placement rate, including Accounting, Interpreting/Sign Language, and Instrumentation & Controls Engineering Technology.

“The community relies on us to be good stewards of tax dollars,” said Maldonado. “Students who succeed at HCC and join the local workforce are giving back to the community that helped make their education possible.”