Education Focus — Higher Education • June 2008

Education Focus — Higher Education • June 2008

Written by Staff Friday, 13 June 2008

Temple College at Taylor

Temple College at Taylor opened in the fall of 1997 with an enrollment of 136 students. Last fall, the junior college had 683 students, with an additional 191 students taking Temple College classes at Taylor, Hutto, Thorndale and Granger high schools.

Temple College is one of EWCHEC’s partners and plans to offer classes there starting fall 2009. Once the higher education center’s campus is constructed, many of TCAT’s classes will move.

• What: Offers credits for core classes transferable to many universities and colleges as well as technical programs and noncredit continuing education classes
• Programs: Include vocational nursing, criminal justice, EMS and computer information systems
• Program length: One semester to two years
• Classes: Day, night and online classes available
• Earn: Transferable credits, certificate of completion and associate’s degree
• Financial aid: For those who qualify, scholarships available through Franklin Bank of Taylor
• Contact: 516 N. Main St., Taylor, 352-2688
• Website: www.templejc.edu/taylor/taylor.htm

Southwestern receives federal grant for new Center for Hispanic Studies

In December, Southwestern University received a $268,000 federal grant that will be used to launch a new Center for Hispanic Studies. The center will be run in partnership with the National Hispanic Institute, which has conducted leadership programs for Hispanic youth for almost 30 years. Southwestern graduate Ernest Nieto is the director of NHI.

Although the university received the grant, it must submit a proposal outlining its intended use and have it approved by the U.S. Department of Education, or ED, before receiving any funds. Southwestern officials are in the process of submitting the proposal.

Ron Swain, Ed.D., senior advisor to the president for strategic planning and assessment, said the money will be used in two primary ways. The first is to do research on the effectiveness of programs like NHI in preparing Hispanic students for college. The other is to determine how Southwestern can provide the appropriate support for its Hispanic students.

“We are anticipating that the findings from this research and the actions that are taken under the project will serve as a model for other colleges and universities nationwide,” Swain said.

This type of research is important because of the growing Hispanic population in Texas and nationwide, Swain said. Southwestern has one of the highest percentages of Hispanic students of similar liberal arts colleges in the country. At this time, they make up about 15 percent of the university’s population.

University officials should know this summer if the ED has approved their proposal. Swain said officials plan to launch the program within the next academic year.

Funds for the center came in an appropriation sponsored by Rep. John Carter and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Legacy Early College High School

To get high school-age kids interested in college, the East Williamson County Higher Education Center began operating an early college program during the 2007-2008 school year. Fifty freshmen students from Taylor and Hutto high schools spent the year attending core classes at Temple College at Taylor.

Students started each day at their home classes taking electives. After lunch, the students were bused to Taylor for core classes including algebra I or geometry, biology, English I and geography.

This fall, Legacy Early College High School will add a new freshman class. Sophomores will begin their day at TCAT, while freshmen will attend class in the afternoon. Classes will be added for the next three years until the program includes 9-12 grades and approximately 400 students.

“The whole purpose is to keep the school small,” Legacy Early College High School Principal Richard Kolek said. “The research shows that students learn better in the small-school environment. We keep [the classes] small to give more individual attention to each student, understand their learning needs and differentiate our instruction to accommodate the students.”

Students began the year with high school courses, and in the spring, 67 percent participated in college courses and earned their first college credit as freshmen in high school.

Students participating in Legacy are not allowed to participate in extracurricular activities because of the course work.

“We are an academically focused school. We are just another avenue you can go down through your high school career,” Kolek said. “[Because of] the rigor of our school work, we do not want them distracted [by the other activities]. We have two to three hours of homework every night.”

Kolek and staff are finishing the acceptance process for the upcoming school year and have not yet determined the number of students who will attend Legacy in the fall.