Nominated in three of five key Hispanic Education priorities, K-12 and College Access, Postsecondary Completion and STEM Education, TSC was the only community college in Texas to be recognized for its college-wide initiatives.
“It’s a great honor for Texas Southmost College to have received this distinction by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence,” said Dr. Lily F. Tercero, TSC president. “As a Hispanic Serving Institution, we strive to provide the communities that we serve with open access to education for all, offer programs that are in-demand such as those in the STEM fields, and guide students through to college completion so that they may continue to pursue their education at a four-year institution or join the workforce.”
Bright Spots are programs, models, organizations, or initiatives that are achieving real and positive results with Hispanic students and their families, and are helping close the achievement gap – from cradle to career, according to the White House Initiative’s website.
The initiative realizes that supporting Hispanic students in their academic careers is critical to their success, and that it will ultimately benefit the nation.
Among the areas recognized as a Bright Spot is TSC’s Division of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, which is establishing a variety of partnerships with four-year institutions such as Texas A&M University, Our Lady of the Lake University, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and Texas Tech University.
“Our goal is to create pathways for our STEM students to go beyond a two-year degree to a four-year degree,” said Dr. Angelica Fuentes, TSC dean of STEM. “We have a wealth of intellectual and geographical resources throughout the Rio Grande Valley. We are nurturing and supporting our students because we believe they have the potential to succeed and are critical to the future economic growth and development of our community.”
TSC’s partnerships with local school districts through dual enrollment and early college high schools has given hundreds of students access to college courses that allow them to earn college credits and has saved their families thousands of dollars in tuition over the past two years since the College re-opened in fall 2013.
“Since fall 2013, TSC has provided the opportunity for high school students to earn college credit,” said TSC Early College High School Liaison Joe Arambul. “These students and their families are saving time and money. These students can also graduate earlier from college upon successful completion of college credit hours.”
About Texas Southmost College
Originally established in 1926, Texas Southmost College currently offers the first two years toward a bachelor’s degree, along with career and technical education leading to certificates and associate degrees, college preparatory studies to prepare students for college-level work, workforce training, and continuing education. TSC offers 53 programs of study leading to an associate degree or certificate. TSC became independently operational in the fall of 2013, after engaging in a 20-year contractual arrangement with a public university.