KATY – The University of Houston-Victoria will offer 11 classes for the first time this fall at the Houston Community College Katy campus in order to provide greater access to upper-level courses for area residents.

The classes will be taught one day a week with all but one taking place in the late afternoon or evening. The classes are open to current UHV students and HCC students who have completed their associate degree and are accepted to UHV.

“This partnership will allow students who have earned their associate degree to start upper-level work without leaving their community college campus,” said Jeffrey Cass, UHV provost and vice president for academic affairs.

The courses, which are in eight different fields of study, are junior- or senior-level classes. One graduate class also will be offered.

“We are complimenting what HCC offers,” Cass said. “I think it will encourage more people to go to community college because they will know they can get a two-year degree and then start on a four-year degree at the same place. The whole objective for HCC and UHV is to get students to go to college. We think this helps accomplish that goal.”

HCC Northwest President Zachary Hodges said the partnership provides an efficient and smart approach to higher education.

“I am very pleased that we are extending our partnership with the University of Houston System to include afternoon and evening courses at the Katy campus for our constituents,” he said. “Clear alignment of our two programs, plus a local pathway to four-year degrees, will fuel the economic growth of the Katy area.”

Cass said he’s pleased with the partnership and excited to be affiliated with an important asset in Fort Bend.

“Dr. Hodges and his staff have been wonderful partners,” Cass said. “They are looking forward to this collaboration, and so are we.”

HCC offers two-year academic degrees, workforce certifications, continuing education classes, adult education classes and high school dual credit courses. UHV offers more than 60 bachelor’s and master’s degree programs and concentrations in the arts and sciences, business administration, education and human development, and nursing fields.

UHV already offers classes in Katy at the UH System at Cinco Ranch, 4242 S. Mason Road. The new classes will take place at HCC Northwest, 1550 Foxlake Drive, close to the Interstate 10 and Fry Road intersection. This location will be a closer spot for some UHV students living in Katy or nearby communities.

“We offer plenty of programs at Cinco Ranch, but Katy is moving in the direction of Fry Road, so we thought it would be a good idea to offer some classes at HCC in the evenings when there aren’t as many classes going on,” Cass said.

The classes are intended to give UHV a greater presence in the Katy community.

“I think this is a way to let the community know we are thinking about the upper-level higher education needs and that the community college and UHV are working together to provide additional access for success,” Cass said.

UHV faculty teaching the classes will come from Fort Bend, Victoria and other cities.

“Our faculty are mobile,” Cass said. “We go where we need to go. That’s a strategy we use not only for academics, but also recruitment. We go where students are, not where we want students to be. But we also offer a destination university in Victoria for those students who want that experience. We meet a lot of needs.”

Here are the classes that will be offered this fall at the HCC Katy campus. “Business and Society” is a graduate-level course.

• MGMT 3303, “Principles of Management,” 7 to 9:45 p.m., Wednesdays
• MGMT 3304, “Legal Environment of Business,” 7 to 9:45 p.m., Thursdays
• LITY 3352, “Literacy Development in the Elementary School,” 4 to 6:45 p.m., Mondays
• CUIN 3323, “Instructional Design, 4 to 6:45 p.m.,” Wednesdays
• PSYC 3316, “Child and Adolescent Development,” 7 to 9:45 p.m., Thursdays
• BIOL 3330, “Histology,” 7 to 9:45 p.m. Wednesdays
• BIOL 4337, “Cell & Molecular Biology”, 7 to 9:45 p.m., Mondays
• COSC 3315, “Computer Science App Design Using GUI/Database,” 2 to 4:45 p.m., Thursdays
• CRIJ 3310, “Foundations of Criminal Justice,” 4 to 6:45 p.m., Wednesdays
• CRIJ 3316, “Ethics of Social Control,” 7 to 9:45 p.m., Tuesdays
• BUSI 6351, “Business and Society,” 7 to 9:45 p.m., Tuesdays

Classes will begin Aug. 27. Students who want more information may contact the UHV Office of the Provost at 361-570-4321.