History
Before the South Texas College District began operations in 1993, the
Hidalgo-Starr County area was the only area in the state of Texas with a
population of nearly half a million people not served by a community college.
South Texas College was created on September 1, 1993, by Texas Senate Bill 251
to serve Hidalgo and Starr Counties. It is the only community college in Texas
to be established by the Texas Legislature.
A confirmation election, held on August 12, 1995, established a taxing district
for the College. Seven districts, based on population, were also approved for
single-member representation on the Board of Trustees. A community leader from
each of the seven districts was originally appointed by Governor Ann Richards to
serve on the founding Board of Trustees. Since May 2000, elections have been
held for all of the seats and all members have been elected.
From its inception, STC was mandated by the State Legislature to provide service
to residents of Starr and Hidalgo counties. Meeting the population’s need for
postsecondary education - and the rapid institutional growth experienced by STC
in the process - has been an enormous but vital task. It is the one for which
the College was founded and charged by the State Legislature, and it is one to
which the College is committed.
South Texas College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools to award the Baccalaureate and Associate
degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur,
Georgia 30033-4097 or call
404-679-4500 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 404-679-4500 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
for questions about the accreditation of South Texas College. It is also
approved for veteran's educational training in Certificate and Associate of
Applied Sciences Degree programs by the Texas Education Agency.
Since its inception, STC has always been committed to the planning process.
STC’s initial planning efforts can be traced to December 1992, when the Steering
Committee for the proposed South Texas Community College commissioned Dr.
Alfredo G. de los Santos Jr. to prepare a proposal to the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board for the creation of a community college in Hidalgo and Starr
Counties. The proposal was submitted in April 1993.
In November 1993 STC began its formal planning process with the establishment of
a committee charged with developing a mission and purpose for the College. This
committee was composed of STC trustees, faculty, staff, and community members
from both Hidalgo and Starr Counties. The committee met from February to March
1994 and developed a mission statement and purpose for the College which were
presented to the Board of Trustees for approval on April 14, 1994
Since that time, STC has continued the strategic planning process and has
developed an institutional effectiveness cycle for each department. Ongoing
planning efforts have included planning workshops and retreats and staff
development across all areas of the college. The people of the district approved
a bond issue of $98.5M in September 2001 to support continued growth and service
through enlarged and improved facilities. These processes incorporate planned
enrollment and program growth.
South Texas College changed its name from South Texas Community College in Fall
2004. STC, along with Brazosport College and Midland College, received Level II
accreditation by SACS as the first Texas community colleges accredited to offer
the Bachelor’s degree. The announcement was made on December 7, 2004 during the
SACS annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. The three institutions were selected
from among the state’s fifty community colleges to be part of a 10-year pilot
project approved by the Texas Legislature in its last legislative session. South
Texas College began offering the Bachelor of Applied Technology in Technology
Management in Fall 2005.