TSC SUPPORTERS LAUD ITS RETURN TO ORIGINAL MISSION

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

Texas Southmost College is well on its way to becoming the community college that many of us recall from our days on the bustling campus.
There is a new sense of pride, collaboration, mission, and enthusiasm at TSC. Signs of its growth are evident, especially on the main campus where parking is becoming scarce and students are seen all over the campus.

Other signs of growth are enrollment numbers, with TSC hitting a significant milestone by breaking the 5,000-student enrollment mark for the first time since TSC re-opened as an independent entity in the Fall 2013.

The record enrollment for Fall 2016 was a 25.3 percent aggregate increase over the previous fall. TSC's on-campus enrollment reached 3,603 students this fall, a 13.8 percent increase over fall 2015.

The College's dual and early college high school enrollment also saw an increase as it reached 1,448 students in fall 2016, a 67.8 percent increase over the previous fall.

Another obvious change is that interim president Mike Shannon, the TSC Board of Trustees, and the College’s leadership team are out in the community promoting the College, engaging with industries, and listening to faculty, staff, and students. Shannon has challenged the staff to “think outside the box” and to find new creative and innovative ways to enhance a student’s learning and campus life experience. The board of trustees are highly-engaged and very supportive of the College’s faculty and staff. They are supporting the mission and making sure the faculty and staff feel valued and supported.





Unlike the past experience the college had with the top-down approach under former TSC-UTB "partnership" president Julieta Garcia and later, the insulated (and isolated) approach by terminated president Lily Tercero, the board and administration have opened the doors to constructive suggestions and advice from instructors, staff and students. Everyone – from board president Adel Garza to instructors and students in the classroom and residents and business owners –  has a voice in shaping the new direction of the community college.



Under Shannon's leadership and in partnership with the board of trustees, TSC is quickly assessing its resources and re-staffing critically underfunded program areas such as student recruitment and outreach, workforce training and continuing education, health care, and technical education.

A new dean was recently hired in the area of health care, career, and technical education. The dean is developing plans to strengthen current programs and to develop new ones in areas of high career potential and demand. Efforts are also underway to complete, the once stalled, renovation project for the health care programs housed at ITECC.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is expected to take place in the near future. Also, new partnership agreements are being developed to provide students with essential real-world experience and long-term career opportunities in Brownsville. The Licensed Vocational Nursing program is said to be thriving and continues to graduate LVN nurses. TSC is the only college in the RGV to offer an associate degree in diagnostic medical sonography. While most of the students in this program are from the local area, several also commute to TSC from the Upper Valley. 

They are highly sought-after students, earning great wages. Other health care programs are thriving and successfully graduating students. Shannon, the board of trustees, and the new dean are diligently working to strengthen the associate degree in nursing program so that TSC can continue training nurses. 


Additionally, there is a collective effort to engage with the college district’s communities, stakeholders, and the economic development community. The College’s efforts to preserve and promote its brand is also evident with a consistent promotion and advertising campaign in English and Spanish for television, radio, billboard, and even cinema theater advertising. The College leadership is also more accessible to the public.

A student life director has been hired to make certain that students have opportunities for leadership training, civic engagement,community service, and career opportunities. A new partnership agreement with the United Way of Southern Cameron County, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce will create paid internships for TSC students.

Under the new partnership, eligible students will be selected to participate in $10/hr. paid internships in a variety of industry and career-elevant internships. The program which was funded by the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation will make it possible for TSC to hire an internship coordinator and place 45 students in internships. Plans are also being taken to provide greater access to TSC to first generation college students. New and innovative summer and year-long camps have been developed to make it possible for more students to get an affordable quality education at TSC. 





Another new promising area of growth for TSC is in the workforce training and continuing education area. Shannon created a new division – institutional advancement and workforce training – which encompasses marketing, community relations, grants, fundraising, alumni relations, the TSC Foundation, special events, and workforce training and continuing education.

The recent hire of a vice president to lead this new division has already resulted in new economic development partnerships with local industries such as health care, industrial maintenance, construction, as well as historical preservation. Also, the TSC Foundation will hold its first meeting in December with the newly elected board of directors. The TSC board has assured local residents that all it scholarship monies will go exclusively to TSC students.

The College is also in the process of relaunching a partnership with the City of Brownsville’s Fire Department for training of future firefighters. TSC plans to launch new workforce and continuing education training in welding, pipe fitting, nurse’s assistant, and others. Plans are also underway for alumni events and fundraising activities.

Also, TSC is working very closely with the Texas Workforce Commission to provide skills development funds to help area industries train their workforceand improve their operations and with the Brownsville Economic Development Council to create workforce training programs to meet current and future workforce demands for current and new industries and companies such as SATA USA. 


One of the most noticeable changes is the strong sense of family that the faculty and staff have with their president Shannon and the TSC Board of Trustees. It is said that President Shannon, the board of trustees, and the staff are planning a family holiday party, which welcomes faculty and staff to bring their spouses, children, and significant others.

This ain't your grandma's TSC from the days of yore. The new president and board of trustees are on the right track. They are intent and highly focused on preserving the 90 year history and tradition of our beloved TSC.

After all, TSC has always been tightly woven into our community. TSC is our college! It is the lifeline to building a strong, economically prosperous community with a great quality of life. Go Scorpions!