HCC, UT Tyler team up to meet demand

More engineers needed to compete

HOUSTON (January 5, 2012) – Effective January 1, Houston Community College and the University of Texas at Tyler began addressing the growing demand for more engineers in Texas. HCC and UT Tyler will offer upper division courses for associate degree graduates at the HCC Alief Campus in mechanical and electrical engineering.

HCC will be responsible for providing facilities conducive for upper division engineering study for UT Tyler students. UT Tyler will provide upper division instruction, laboratory facilities and appropriate student and business office services for students enrolled in the UT Tyler completion programs. This agreement is only one of the many programs HCC is developing with major universities to graduate more students in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math fields.

Recognizing the need, the two higher-education institutions are developing a straightforward pathway to engineering and science baccalaureate degrees. HCC and UT Tyler will bridge the demand by providing local employers with the trained and skilled workforce necessary to compete in today’s marketplace.

“Offering students a clear pathway to a four-year engineering degree is a crucial advancement in higher education,” Dr. Zachary Hodges, President of HCC Northwest, said. “HCC’s partnership with UT Tyler has the potential to lead to the creation of hundreds of engineers, and many of them will be able to find employment locally.”

The partnership establishes a Texas statewide model Associate of Science in Engineering Science degree program on the HCC Alief campus. This degree is accredited through the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and will offer significant advantages to HCC students when considering transfer to UT Tyler or other engineering schools in Texas and across the country.

“I am very excited about this new endeavor with HCC and what it means to the students in Houston. With the Associate of Science Degree in Engineering that HCC will offer and the upper division courses in engineering that UT Tyler will offer, students will have a much better opportunity to complete their four-year engineering degree. This is a market UT Tyler can serve well, and this movement builds upon the cooperative relationship HCC and UT Tyler have shared for the last four years,” explained Dr. James Nelson, Dean of the College of Engineering at UT Tyler.