Best Higher Education - Houston Community College | WESTCHASE DISTRICT

Best Higher Education – Houston Community College

HCC students work with the 3D printers available to them in West Houston Institute’s MakerSpace

Houston Community College serves the greater Houston area by providing pathways for high school and college student success through credit programs, and provides continuing education courses for life-long learners in the Houston community.

The Media Arts and Technology Center of Excellence opens the doors to budding multimedia artists, web developers, photographers, and animators, with degrees and certifications in various fields of digital communication, as well as audio recording, filmmaking and music business.

Through partnerships with University of Texas Tyler, Texas A&M University, and University of Houston, HCC’s Engineering Center of Excellence offers students several pathways to a four-year engineering degree. Students can take HCC classes to satisfy the enrollment requirements of a four-year university or earn an ABET-accredited bachelor’s degree in mechanical, electrical or civil engineering for less than $20,000.

“We’re proud of our partnerships with businesses and universities,” said HCC Northwest College President Dr. Zachary Hodges. “There’s a movement right now for community colleges to offer four-year degree programs but our choice has been to partner with universities because that’s their expertise. Our programs provide clear pathways for success to our students so they don’t waste any time, and it’s very cost-effective.”

The library, located within HCC’s West Houston Institute, is a favorite destination for students.

The Hayes Road campus is also home to the West Houston Institute (WHI), a state-of-the-art facility that offers a unique approach to teaching and learning through engagement, creativity, and innovation for students, faculty, staff and the community. The Institute boasts a host of innovative features, including a 10,000 square-foot MakerSpace, science research labs, a digital learning commons, and a Collaboratorium, which is a unique collaborative design center that employs design thinking as a process to help people be their most creative. The Institute’s conference center is available for luncheons, conferences, lecturers, workshops, seminars and special events. A unique feature of the WHI is the IDEAS Academy, which is a one-semester program in Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship in the Arts and Sciences.

HCC partners with Alief ISD to provide high school students the opportunity to earn college credit and an associate degree simultaneously through the Alief Early College High School.