University of Houston-Victoria
Program Development
New Item
Requested Biennial Funding: $ 606,000
Older adults, usually with jobs and family responsibilities, now constitute more than 50 percent of students enrolled in post-secondary education. They need continuing education to succeed in the jobs they have or to find better ones. The major barrier to their getting it is their lack of time and mobility. They cannot go away to college, and education must be delivered to them. Since computer technology increasingly dominates the modern workplace, it provides an ideal method of providing convenient access to higher education and at the same time improving students' ability to use the technology.
Assisted by the enhancement funding the Texas Legislature appropriated and by a realignment of institutional priorities, UH-Victoria has developed an extensive array of online, Internet-based courses that enable us to provide greater access to students from across our large service region. We have invested in technology but, more importantly, have invested in the human capability to use it to its best advantage. Our enrollments have greatly increased as a result, climbing by over 30 percent in the past three years. About 25 percent of our courses are offered on line. An even larger percentage of courses incorporate some online instruction. More than 60 % of our faculty members are using the Internet to deliver or supplement their courses. Our entire MBA program is available online.
UH-Victoria seeks funding to expand and enhance further the instructional delivery of online, Internet-based courses. With this assistance, UH-Victoria will provide more students the opportunity to participate in online courses, as well as to participate online in traditionally delivered courses, thus increasing instructional efficiency, as well. Programs primarily involved will be teacher education, undergraduate business, counseling, mathematics, and computer science. After one biennium, formula funding of the courses introduced will enable us to continue this initiative.
Center for Regional Outreach
|
Existing Item
Requested Biennial Funding: |
$ 600,000 (continuing) |
| $ 900,000 (new) | |
| $ 1,500,000 (total) |
UH-Victoria's service region produces college graduates at half the rate of Texas and Texas ranks in the lower quartile of the nation. Without an educated work force, employers will not locate in the UH-Victoria service region, with a resulting loss of potential tax base. UH-Victoria seeks additional funding to further implement and expand its regional outreach efforts to raise the educational attainment rate of the underrepresented populations in its 15-county service region. The additional requested funding would enable the Center for Regional Outreach to completely implement its strategies in seven counties, as well as expand implementation to the remaining eight counties of its service region.
To date, the Center for Regional Outreach has identified barriers underrepresented groups are facing in pursuit of education and implemented effective strategies to overcome these barriers. These strategies include developing and presenting an awareness program on the importance of post-secondary education to approximately 50 groups; gaining the commitment of some 100 individuals to create a Human Capital Planning Team to address these barriers; sending college ambassadors to schools to talk with 10,000 P-12th grade students about the importance of and accessibility to college; hosting 2,000 students for college campus visits, familiarizing them with the college environment and providing information about careers and access to college; beginning 11 mentoring programs linked to some 90 at-risk students; initiating a parent/adult involvement program; and, creating partnerships with schools and community groups to more effectively implement these strategies. Additionally, Regional Outreach provides academic support courses, professional development courses, and certification programs.
