With the city limits of Houston, Texas there are 40 different colleges and universities. This article focuses specifically on Houston Community College but many of the college’s traits apply to similar institutions in the Houston area because of the particular way in which community colleges tend to operate. Keep reading…
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Houston Community College was established in 1971 and spans 23 different commuter campuses in the Houston area, making it the most expansive college system in the city limits. It employs a total of about 3,000 academic and administrative staff in total. The community college is known for its international recruitment programs, leading to a population of thousands of international undergraduate students, drawn in by the institution’s English language programs. Houston Community College also does not have any prerequisite of English fluency for admittance.
What’s Different
Community colleges are distinct from other colleges and universities because they do not typically have any form of on-campus housing for students and generally do not offer graduate degrees. However, many community colleges, HCC included, offer a wide variety of technical training programs and licensing opportunities that allow students to enter the workforce more quickly. It is also common for students to attend a community college for two years for general education requirements and then transfer to a full-fledged university to complete their degrees.
Positions and Compensation
Academic positions at a community college are great for teachers and professors in need or want of the flexibility it offers. Houston Community College employs a lot of adjunct teaching positions, meaning that educators are paid based on the number of courses they teach rather than a fixed salary. This allows faculty greater flexibility and the potential to focus on their own research to a greater degree outside of teaching. Non-academic staff at HCC is similar to that of a university, with the exception of a lack of a campus housing department. Still, it employs multiple technical and maintenance related positions that can range anywhere from $15-$20 hourly, depending on the necessary certification. While community colleges do employ student workers, they tend to hire more outside applicants for their administrative and departmental positions than universities do. These positions tend to require a bachelor’s degree at minimum and 3-5 years of work experience, paying anywhere from $50,000 to roughly $80,000 annually depending on the ranking and additional qualifications for the position.
Overall, Houston Community College employees report high levels of job satisfaction. Working with students leads to a feeling of accomplishment and, while some employees expressed frustration with some administrative choices and structures, their response was overwhelmingly positive.