UHV president highlights university’s achievements in national publication
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| Phil Castille |
University of Houston-Victoria President Phil Castille recently published an article in the national magazine “Public Purpose” about UHV alumni’s first-year earnings success in the professional world.
His article, “Lower Tuition, Higher First-Year Salaries: The Unsung Value of Texas’ Regional Universities,” appears in the summer 2013 issue of Public Purpose, the magazine of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
The article discusses the findings of a report released in April by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and CollegeMeasures.org. The report tracked the earnings of graduates from the state’s 37 public higher education institutions during their first year after receiving a degree. Titled “Higher Education Pays: The Initial Earnings of Graduates of Texas Public Colleges and Universities,” the report stated that UHV graduates had the fourth highest median first-year earnings of bachelor’s degree graduates in the state.
“I thought it was important to showcase on a national level how Texas regional universities such as UHV – not just the larger, more expensive flagship institutions – are doing a great job of preparing students for high-paying careers once they graduate,” Castille said. “UHV has one of the lowest tuition rates in the state, and our graduates ranked close to the top for first-year income, which is a very strong win-win proposition for students.”
The $44,157 median salary earned by UHV graduates in their first year of professional employment is ahead of all state flagship universities including Texas A&M, the University of Texas at Austin and Texas Tech. The state median was $39,725. For master’s degrees, UHV ranked even higher – in third place – with a first-year median earning of $68,540. The state median was $63,537.
“These high rankings for UHV are a tribute to our hard-working students, our dedicated faculty and staff, and our career-centered academic programs,” Castille said.
Public Purpose is a quarterly publication that provides a national forum to highlight members’ distinctive contributions to public higher education and provide topical and timely commentary and analysis.
AASCU is a Washington, D.C.-based higher education association of more than 400 public colleges, universities and systems whose members promote a teaching- and learning-centered culture of student success, a commitment to access to higher education, and a dedication to research and innovation that advances their regions’ economic progress and cultural development.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
