The board of trustees unanimously approved cuts to underperforming programs and certificates at its April 16 meeting.
Citing low enrollment and completion metrics, the catering/personal chef Level 2 certificate and fashion merchandising program and its associated certificates were both cut.
Multiple hospitality management programs and certificates have been removed or combined into a consolidated program structure, SE President Andrew Bowne said.
“Candidly, we’re providing too many options for our students to choose from, and they’re not completing [the programs],” he said.
About $7 million in total spending was approved in purchases of equipment, repairs and auditing services while showing a $19.5 million total income increase over last year.
Nearly $2 million was approved to repair and upgrade the foundation of SE Campus after elevated moisture levels posed a health hazard in summer 2024.
“The project includes removal and replacement of eroded soil around the building perimeter, installation of additional foundation drainage systems, restoration of fireproofing on structural steel beams and joints within the crawlspace, installation of a continuous vapor barrier and overall building performance will be improved,” Chief Financial Officer Pamela Anglin said.
About $2.7 million was approved to upgrade the district’s current in-building Emergency Responder Radio Communication Coverage System, which enables radio communication in places typically unable to receive a signal.
“Upgrading the DAS [Distributed Antenna System] will provide reliable in-building radio coverage, ensuring effective communication for campus police and municipal emergency responders,” Anglin said.
The board also authorized the offering of an air traffic control Associate of Applied Sciences beginning in spring 2027, the only program of its kind within 50 miles of Dallas/Fort Worth, NW President Zarina Blankenbaker said.
“We’re going to need between $800 [thousand] to $1 million,” Blankenbaker said.
Classes will be limited to around 20 students due to simulator capacity, aviation instructor David Skidmore said.
Chancellor Elva LeBlanc announced that the nursing program received a $1.2 million grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
“There’s only one other college that received more money than us,” she said.
The board passed a resolution honoring Gwendolyn Morrison’s 50 years of serving on the board of trustees.
“Dr. Morrison’s legacy is woven into the very fabric of TCC,” board President Jeannie Deakyne said. “Generations of students, many of whom she’s met, many of whom she will never meet, have benefited from her steady guidance, her belief and access to education and her unwavering dedication to this institution.”
Morrison spoke about her memory of joining the board in 1976 and experience working for TCC and said she plans to work through her term ending in 2031.
“What the other board members did not tell you, that I told each of them, ‘You come to the board with full authority. You’ve been sent by the voters who cast their vote for you. You need not look to the right or to the left when you’re making a decision,’” Morrison said. “Whether I said it or not, I wanted them to look first in their own heart, and then to remember the people who sent them here.”
