2014-17
Instructional Master Plan
Our highest worth to the state is preparing men and women to meet the workforce needs of Texas. - Adam Hutchison Provost TSTC Harlingen
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Provost’s Welcome
The 2014-2017 Instructional Master Plan is one component of the overall Strategic Plan for Texas State Technical College Harlingen (TSTC), and it outlines the vision for the College’s activities in the Student Learning Division. At its core, TSTC is a teaching institution, and we value the impact that is made in our community and state when knowledge is conferred and skills attained. Rather than constricting our vision, however, we treasure this emphasis on instruction, as it focuses our opportunity and responsibility to effectively and efficiently teach students. Our highest worth to the state is preparing men and women to meet the workforce needs of Texas, and we accomplish this by providing excellent instruction in relevant fields every day. We believe, as President Maldonado does, in the power of education to transform individuals, their families, and our communities. Under his leadership, we have taken
positive strides to build a campus environment that reflects TSTC’s core values: excellence, leadership, innovation, collaboration, responsiveness, accountability, and stewardship. These values are embedded in the Instructional Master Plan, and they provide inspiration and foundation for the activities described herein. In concert with the College’s Strategic Plan, this plan is built upon four foundational pillars that support the related activities that will propel TSTC into the future. The four elements are: • Quality Learning Experiences • Programs that Add Value • Accountability • Community Engagement These initiatives will, by their nature, engage the entire campus community, and the whole College will share in the achievement. The Instructional Master Plan, then, provides a framework for TSTC community at large, charting a course
for classroom and extracurricular activities alike. It is our hope that everyone at TSTC will recognize their role in meeting the needs of our students and be diligent in their responsibility to prepare them for the workplace. What follows is the compilation and fusion of the work done by many of the stakeholders who comprise the TSTC community. Faculty, staff, students, business, and government leaders have provided their input, vision, and expertise at various points in the process to develop this plan. Their viewpoints couple the economic and demographic realities with the optimism and opportunities that await our students. As we approach our 50th anniversary, it is my hope that the Instructional Master Plan provides inspiration, enthusiasm, and a vision that prepares us for success for the next 50 years. Adam Hutchison Provost, TSTC Harlingen
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Chancellor & Board of Regents TSTC System
Mike Reeser Chancellor, TSTC System West Texas
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Ellis M. Skinner II Chair Spicewood, Texas 2009 - 2013
Linda McKenna Executive Committee Place 1 Harlingen, Texas 2009 - 2015
Joe M. Gurecky Vice Chair Rosenberg, Texas 2006 - 2017
Gene Seaman Executive Committee Place 2 Corpus Christi, Texas 2008 - 2013
Joe K. Hearne Dallas, Texas 2006 - 2017
Penny Forrest Waco, Texas 2009 - 2015
James Virgil (J.V.) Martin Sweetwater, Texas 2004 - 2015
John K. Hatchel Woodway, Texas 2011 - 2017
Mike Northcutt Longview, Texas 2002 - 2013
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TSTC Harlingen Administration
Dr. Cesar Maldonado, P.E. President Vice Chancellor for Institutional Research and Commercialization
Teri Lyn Zamora Executive Vice President for Financial and Administrative Services Associate Vice Chancellor for Institutional Research
Adam C. Hutchison Provost
Cathy Maples Vice President for Student Development
Dr. Stella Garcia Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness & Research
Mary Adams Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management
Barbara Bennett Associate Vice President of Student Learning
Cledia Hernandez Associate Vice President of Corporate & Community Education
Dr. Regina Garza Mitchell Associate Vice President of Student Learning
Javier Deleon Associate Vice President of College Readiness & Advancement
Dr. Gary Deaton Associate Vice President of Facilities
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Student Learning Departments & Programs
CREDIT PROGRAMS Allied Health: Jean Lashbrook, Division Director PROGRAM AS AAS CER Biology ✓ Culinary Arts ✓ ✓ Dental Assistant ✓ Dental Hygiene ✓ ✓ Dental Laboratory Technology ✓ ✓ General Health Profession Foundation ✓ Health Information Technology ✓ Medical Information Specialist/Transcriptionist ✓ Medical Assistant ✓ ✓ Nurse Assistant ✓ Registered Nursing (ADN) ✓ Surgical Technology ✓ ✓ Vocational Nursing (LVN) ✓ Computer Information Systems: Dr. Edna Claus, Division Director PROGRAM AS AAS CER Academic Computer Science ✓ Business Management Technology ✓ ✓ Computer Networking & Security Technology ✓ ✓ Computer Systems Management Technology ✓ ✓ Digital Media Design Technology ✓ ✓ Game & Simulation Programming ✓ ✓ Education & Humanities: Nicki Cone, Division Director PROGRAM AS AAS CER Academic General Education Education & Training ✓ ✓ Mathematics ✓ Physics ✓ Engineering: Dr. Fernando Figueroa, Division Director PROGRAM AS AAS CER Architectural Design & Engineering Graphics ✓ Biomedical Equipment Technology ✓ Chemical Environmental Technology ✓ Engineering Science ✓ Mechatronics Technology ✓ Telecommunications Technology ✓ ✓ Wind Energy & Turbine Technology ✓ ✓ Wind Energy & Turbine Technology (Ingleside) ✓ ✓
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Industrial/Manufacturing: Adan Gutierrez, Division Director PROGRAM AS Agricultural Technology Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Technology Auto Collision Technology Automotive Technology Aviation Maintenance Technology Building Construction Science Precision Manufacturing Technology Welding Technology
AAS CER ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
NON-CREDIT PROGRAMS Corporate & Community Education: Cledia Hernandez, Associate Vice President Basic Peace Officer Academy Business and Industry Training Emergency Medical Technology Firefighter Academy Phlebotomy College Readiness & Advancement: Javier De Leon, Associate Vice President Adult Basic Education Center for Science and Math Education College Assistance Migrant Program Educational Talent Search Dual Enrollment High School Equivalency Program Student Success Upward Bound
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History of TSTC
EST.
1965 TSTC was first established as the James Connally Technical Institute of Texas A&M University and was located at the James Connally Air Force Base in Waco.
1970
Texas State Technical Institute expanded to include colleges in the Panhandle and in West Texas.
1991
Texas State Technical Institute was renamed Texas State Technical College.
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1967
The Connally Technical Institute expanded to include a South Texas campus in Harlingen.
1969
The institution made a break from Texas A&M and became Texas State Technical Institute.
2013
TSTC includes 4 main colleges – Waco, Marshall, West Texas and the largest one in Harlingen with a total enrollment of over 10,000 students annually.
Instructional Master Plan Outline
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GOAL ONE:
Quality Learning Experiences At TSTC Harlingen, we believe that a quality learning experience is at the heart of student achievement. We will establish a culture that values innovation, passion, and positive student engagement. To this end we will: • Select, retain, and reward quality instructors Faculty members are the “front line” of the educational experience for our students. They should possess thorough knowledge of the instructional subject, as well as the ability to effectively communicate to students, the TSTC community, and external stakeholders. In the marketplace for quality higher education faculty, TSTC will select and assess faculty with a primary emphasis placed on effectiveness in the teaching environment of the classroom and laboratory. Through local implementation of the TSTC System-wide Compensation Study, we will seek to remain competitive by offering remuneration comparable with like institutions. Beyond the Compensation Study, a forward-looking proposal will be developed that may provide
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guidance for the application of merit based salary increases. • Recognize and promote quality instruction Everyday on our campus, there are innovative and stellar illustrations of student engagement and achievement in our classrooms and labs. It is important that we, as an educational community, celebrate and honor this type of instruction and promote these best practices campuswide. Acknowledging the fiscal limitations of the College, we will develop a recognition program of non-salary incentives that includes peer awards and faculty ranking. • Invest in professional development Supporting our commitment to quality instructional experience, TSTC will continue to invest in the development of faculty and student learning support personnel, including Teaching Lab Assistants, Program Maintenance Specialists, and other administrative positions. Key areas of improved services for instructional staff will be the Center for Excellence in
Teaching and Learning (CETL) courses and support for online learning activities. Recognizing the responsibilities of support personnel, professional development specific to Student Learning will be provided to non-instructional staff, and instructional divisions will ensure that meaningful, relevant, training is provided to each employee.
Goal One: Quality Learning Experiences
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GOAL TWO:
Programs that Add Value In keeping with TSTC’s mission, we will develop and deliver programs of study that have labor market value and lead to ongoing educational opportunities. These programs will provide rigor and relevance to give our students the best possible avenues for success. To accomplish this, we will: • Ensure that students acquire employer-validated skills using relevant technology. Texas businesses and industries play a vital role in the success of TSTC, from providing financial and material support for programs to hiring our graduates. One of the most critical functions they serve is the regular review of curriculum and learning outcomes at annual Advisory Committee meetings. Because the connection between our programs and businesses is critical, we will review all programs’ committee rosters and establish uniform guidelines for industry representation on our Advisory Committees. Using the feedback received from industry, each department will assess the learning outcomes related to employer-expected performance.
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• Design, develop, and deliver relevant, high-skill, high-tech programs that provide our students a competitive edge in the job market. Fulfilling its legislated mission, TSTC will train students in programs that prepare graduates for the Texas workforce. All departments will review their student learning outcomes in a formal process and make the necessary revisions to correlate the activities in the program to onthe-job expectations. Programs will be equipped to provide instruction that relates to the current curriculum. Where appropriate, will expand existing and establish new programs to meet the workforce demands of the state. • Develop and deliver customized educational offerings Since its inception, TSTC has been providing made-to-order training for public and private organizations around the state, and we will continue to deliver these customized courses and programs to meet demand. Because the curriculum for these programs is developed in partnership with the customer, the courses are focused on
the students’ attainment of immediately applicable and relevant skills, and they are delivered at a time and place that is effective for the client. We will also provide courses that enrich the community that we serve through professional development and continuing education. • Ensure incoming students are prepared for college-level coursework The lack of academic preparedness is a great challenge facing our incoming students, and we will continue to develop innovative curricula and programs to meet this need. By setting the appropriate expectations for each course TSTC offers, we will increase the likelihood for success for each student in their class, and these expectations will be clearly and publicly communicated. This also helps students chart a clear and meaningful path towards completion of their goal at TSTC, and it improves the effectiveness our faculty as they work with their students. • Promote cross-departmental programs that contribute to students’ success
Goal Two: Programs That Add Value
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Student success is not the responsibility of a single department, and no program can completely meet the needs of a student as they matriculate through the College. Therefore, it is imperative that we develop and deliver innovative strategies that compliment other institutional efforts to support student success. All new students will take a course that sets the foundation of achievement at TSTC and promotes awareness of the resources available across the campus. We will establish learning communities that allow students to share a common experience around their courses, and we will improve access and effectiveness of our tutoring services. With the understanding that we can all be involved in helping a student find the program that is right for them, we will provide opportunities for departments to learn more about their counterparts at TSTC and to recruit students internally. • Alignment of programs Associate of Science (AS), Associate of Applied Science (AAS), and Certificate programs should be aligned in such a way that there is a clear
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outcome for each award and that the academic attainment of each is distinct from other awards. All awards will be reviewed to ensure that they contain the appropriate levels of academic rigor, and they will be aligned to provide a clear and meaningful pathway for students who progress from Certificate to AAS in the same discipline.
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GOAL THREE:
Accountability Student Learning will demonstrate leadership in campus initiatives that promote good stewardship of the College’s physical, fiscal, and intellectual resources. We will hold ourselves accountable for our performance in all areas of Student Learning. • Program Measures Enrollment has historically been the most important measure of a college department’s success, but TSTC’s highest value to Texas is when our students succeed – by graduation and placement in a job or by transfer to the university of their choice. Since this metric is now tied directly to our public funding, it is even more imperative that we grade ourselves in ways that support this goal. We will record and report each program’s success based on students’ progress and achievement, making continuous improvements that benefit our students, TSTC, and communities we serve. • Resource Measures As stewards of the state’s resources, we recognize our responsibility to carefully
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manage the personnel, property, and dollars that are entrusted to us to accomplish our mission. The economic climate will continue to bring scrutiny upon all public agencies, and we are committed to representing the College well by making wise decisions, considering both the short term and long term implications of how we administer our resources. We will balance the demands of quality instruction and limited assets by using our teaching spaces efficiently and effectively, fairly distributing workload among Student Learning personnel, and investing in capital goods that have the highest and best use for the College.
Goal Three: Accountability
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GOAL FOUR:
Community Engagement As citizens of the TSTC and Rio Grande Valley communities, we will uphold our commitment to engage with all stakeholders. We will bring clarity and vision through our communication and add value through our actions. • Internal communication Large organizations like TSTC have hundreds of simultaneous projects in motion, requiring cross-divisional participation and communication. Technology has allowed our means of interaction to increase, but the information that we share must still be timely and relevant for us to succeed. Meetings, both formal and informal, can be good venues for collaboration, problem solving, and dialogue, and we will consistently bring internal stakeholders into the conversations. By developing communication plans for key projects, we will reduce the risks of not communicating with team members or sharing the wrong information, and where appropriate, we will use social media to share information and receive feedback. • External communication
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No one is better at telling our story than we are, and we will make it a priority to be more visible and vocal about our successes. In addition to conventional marketing, we will be active in promoting our programs, celebrating our achievements, and honoring our teammates. We will responsibly use social media to inform and engage our students, colleagues, and the public about TSTC and higher education, and we will work with other College resources to support TSTC’s marketing, recruiting, and communication strategies. • Community involvement/ partnerships The TSTC campus is a hub of activity and creativity, and we have an impact on the region we serve. In addition to the campus classroom and lab activities, we will seek opportunities to be active in the community, engaged in co-ops and internships that provide college credit for our students on the job. We will also pursue projects that showcase our skills and promote innovative, active learning through regional partnerships.
Goal Four: Community Engagement
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Student Profile
52%
48%
89% Hispanic 7% White, 4% Other
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Average Age
Full Time 43% Part Time 57%
84%
Live in Cameron County 7.5% Hidalgo, 6% Willacy
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Faculty Profile
219 Faculty
39%
61%
Full Time 74% Part Time 26%
40%
have ten or more years service at TSTC 21% Have more than 20
More than half of the faculty have Master’s or Doctorates degrees. The other half associate’s or bachelor’s degrees.
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Points of Excellence
2 Graduates of the Dental Assisting Program at TSTC Harlingen are at 100 percent pass rate for the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners certification exam.
100%
The Business Management Technology Program has a 100 percent job placement rate.
TSTC Harlingen has the only Wind Energy Technology program south of San Antonio.
24 Sixty-eight percent of CAMP students successfully completed their first year of college.
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TSTC’s Dental Lab Program is one of two in the whole state of Texas and the only one in the Rio Grande Valley.
90%
of all TSTC Allied Health Graduates stay and work in the Rio Grande Valley after graduation.
The HEP Program at TSTC is ranked 10 nationally among colleges for productivity and effectiveness.
#10
800
More than 800 HEP students have earned GEDs at TSTC in the past 12 years. The University Center on the TSTC campus has a total of eight university partners and offers 31 bachelor’s programs, 24 master’s programs and one doctorate. TSTC’s Fire Academy is celebrating its 25th anniversary in spring 2013.
VISIT US ONLINE
1902 N. Loop 499 Harlingen, Texas 78550 Tel: 800-852-8784 956-364-4000 www.tstc.edu
Š Copyright Texas State Technical College. All rights reserved. Published 2013. Equal opportunity shall be afforded within the Texas State Technical College System to all employees and applicants for admission or employment regardless of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age or disability. TSTC will make reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities.