"Report to the Community" shows UH-Clear Lake's academic achievements
by Jeannie Aquino
UHCLIDIAN STAFF

Focusing on the current accomplishments of the university and highlighting new initiatives, President Bill Staples released UH-Clear Lake's "Report To The Community" to the area's business and academic leaders on March 21.

Published annually, the university offers the report to promote the successes of existing UH-Clear Lake programs, as well as to outline the school's focus on the future of Texas at all levels of education. Some of the current successes Staples cited include the reaccreditation of the School of Education by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, the accreditation of the undergraduate computer systems engineering program by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, and pending reviews from other accrediting agencies for the chemistry and computer science programs. Nationally accredited programs such as these support the university's goal of delivering quality programs to its students.

Other initiatives described in the report are the increased availability of online courses with more on the way and the new undergraduate degree in geography.

"Our goal is to have both relevant and responsive academic degree programs offered in various formats that meet the needs of our students," Staples said. "UHCL now offers more than 30 undergraduate programs and more than 40 master's level programs."

Endowments to the university are also on the rise, according to the report, and Staples credited the University Advancement Team for the increase. Since 1996, UH-Clear Lake has added 60 endowments, totaling $3.4 million, bringing the total to 101 endowments and $7.4 million, respectively.

Emphasizing the importance of partnerships, the "Report To The Community" also recognizes individuals and organizations that have partnered with the university through its Community Partnership Awards. These partners have been instrumental in the growth and success of the university. Memorial-Hermann Healthcare System and the San Jacinto College System received this year's UH-Clear Lake Community Partnership Awards.

"As a partnership-oriented and community-oriented university, UH-Clear Lake values its community partnerships with business organizations, educational institutions and government agencies," Staples said in his address. "Our partners have helped UHCL to be a very successful university, and we are most grateful for their contributions to our success."

Memorial Hermann's donations include financial contributions to the endowment of the Healthcare Administration Program at UH-Clear Lake, in addition to administrative internship residences for more than 20 UH-Clear Lake graduate students and ongoing leadership to the program.

San Jacinto's partnership with UH-Clear Lake has existed since the beginning of the university. San Jacinto provides the highest number of community college transfer students to the university and partners with UH-Clear Lake in the Home Grown Teacher Project, which encourages students to pursue a career in education.

San Jacinto is also a key partner with the university, Clear Creek and Pasadena Independent School Districts, NASA Johnson Space Center, and area businesses in the Aerospace Academy for Engineering and Teacher Education, which promotes careers in math, science, computer and engineering while it improves teacher training in these areas.

"The goals of the Aerospace Academy are to increase the number of students majoring in math, science, computing and engineering, while also training teachers in restructuring curricula and teaching methods to meet the demands for a high technology work force," Staples said. "Support for this initiative has already been received from the Texas Workforce Commission, Houston Endowment and NASAÕs Johnson Space Center."

Although the university has shown an overall increase in enrollment, including an increase in minority and international enrollments, Staples challenged UH-Clear Lake's partners to strive to raise the level of college attendance at Texas four-year institutions - the current level is 18 percent below the national average.

"As the demographics of the state of Texas continue to change, we must work together - education, business and government - to increase the college-going and graduation rates if our state is to sustain the economic development and maintain the quality of life we all enjoy."