UHV teaches the teachers at Austin Community College
Faculty at ACC will take mostly online classes to earn a Certificate in Adult & Higher Education from UHV upon completion of 15 master's-level credit hours. Classes start June 2.
"We learn differently as adults than we do as children," said Diane Prince, UHV education professor and coordinator of the program. "With our world changing so quickly, we all must be lifetime learners and continue our education through our careers."
The program will focus primarily on community college professors since such institutions play a major role in providing additional education to the working public, Prince said. As a result, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board staff encourages community college professors to take classes similar to those UHV will provide ACC faculty members.
Beyond community college faculty, anyone who educates adults can register as a UHV student and take the new program. It will be valuable to anyone involved in teaching adults, such as trainers in private companies or those employed by various government agencies, Prince said.
Classes will include topics like adult development, the foundations of adult education, history and philosophy of higher education, and governance of higher education, she said.
Each student also will complete an internship individualized to his area of adult education, Prince said. For example, college professors may complete a research project on adult students, while those working in a GED program could focus their research on adults completing their secondary educations.
Also teaching classes will be Margaret Rice, executive assistant to UHV President Tim Hudson and holder of a doctorate in educational human resource development.
While most of the classes will be offered online for convenience, Rice plans to travel to Austin four or five times to teach part of her adult development class face-to-face.
"It may be the first time many of these students are taking an online class, and it's my first time teaching one, so I hope using the blended format will help both the students and me move into the online teaching environment," she said.
Her travel also is part of UHV's continuing efforts to increase partnerships with other educational institutions.
"It will help establish a presence there as we seek to partner with Austin Community College on many levels," Rice said.
Perspective students still can register for classes today and Friday. For more information about registering, contact the UHV Student Solutions office at 800-687-3738 or 361-573-0000. For more information about the certificate program, contact Prince at princed@uhv.edu.
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.
