Katy South - Fulshear Edition | April 2025

BY VALERIA ESCOBAR, KELLY SCHAFLER & AUBREY VOGEL

What they oer

The funding options

What’s next?

The legislative session began Jan. 14, with a bill ling deadline of March 15, according to the Texas Legislative Council’s website. The session is slated to adjourn June 2, barring extensions through special sessions. UH at Katy ocials have proposed the request, but a bill number wasn’t available as of press time. However, Neal said higher education issues typically extend onto the special sessions that are scheduled after adjournment around October. “In the past two sessions, if not three sessions, [UH requests] usually made it into the special sessions,” Neal said. “We’re prepared to go the distance.” If awarded, university ocials said they expect to receive funding in early 2026 and will begin the design phase for the building, which is anticipated to take approximately a year.

Both UH at Katy and HCCKaty already have oerings that reect the area’s workforce. The UH site houses undergraduate courses for HCC’s Engineering Academy, where students can co-enroll at both institutions for an associate and bachelor’s degree. The University of Houston-Victoria also oers a co-enrollment engineering bachelor’s program with HCC. However, with UHV at Katy transition- ing back to the Victoria main campus, all UHV at Katy students will continue coursework online or in Victoria starting in fall 2026, HCC ocials said.

UH receives its capital improvement budget from allocations in the Legislature, but HCC depends on taxpayers to fund buildings, Hodges said. However, when HCC launched its rst four-year degree program in late 2023, the college’s accreditation changed to where HCC could gain state funding, Hodges said.

Community college state funding factors

Number of high school students who earned at least 15 credit hours through dual credit programs Students with 15 credit hours who transferred to or co-enrolled in a Texas public university Number of credentials or degrees awarded, with a return on investment 10 years post-grad

“As Victoria is going to diminish, we’re pushing really hard to oer more programs.” JAY NEAL, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AT UH

SOURCE: TEXAS HIGHER EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD COMMUNITY IMPACT

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KATY SOUTH FULSHEAR EDITION