UHV extends employee scholarship to family members
Dependents and spouses of full-time University of Houston-Victoria employees now have access to a scholarship to help them pursue a higher education degree from the university.
On Friday, university administrators modified the UHV Faculty & Staff Tuition Scholarship program to include the dependents and spouses of employees. In the past, the scholarship only applied to UHV employees and paid the tuition and fees for a single three-credit-hour course each semester at the university. Now the program will pay for up to six credit hours each semester for either the employee or, if the employee chooses not to use the program, the employee’s spouse or a dependent.
“Education empowers people,” said Chance Glenn, UHV provost and vice president for academic affairs. “We are excited that we can offer this opportunity to our faculty and staff, and look forward to seeing the fruits that come forth as a result.”
University administrators decided to change the policy after representatives from the UHV Staff Council brought the request to them. Before the update, the university sent out a survey to faculty and staff. The results showed that 81 percent of employees were interested in transferring the scholarship benefit to their spouse or dependents, and more than half said the benefit could impact their decision to work at the university.
“Our people are our greatest resource, so we are always looking for ways we can enhance their experience at UHV,” UHV President Bob Glenn said. “We found that this was something we could do right away that would have an immediate benefit. We will not stop here, but this is a good first step.”
Those eligible for the scholarship include full-time, benefits-eligible employees who met or exceeded expectations on their most recent evaluations and are in good financial and academic standing with the university.
Employees, their dependents or spouses who wish to take advantage of the benefit must go through the university’s admissions process. In addition, the student must complete the covered courses with a 2.0 GPA for undergraduate courses or a 3.0 for graduate courses, or the scholarship will be withdrawn. Because the scholarship has limited funds and partially relies on donations and fundraising, the awards are given each semester on a first-come, first-served basis.
“I am really excited about this new policy change for UHV employees and their families,” said Laura Smith, UHV Human Resources director. “This policy, in addition to our existing wonderful benefits, will be an extra incentive for people to come work at UHV.”
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.
