ROARING TOWARD INNOVATION

Each year, UHV’s three schools create academic programs and make improvements to better meet the needs of the university’s students and the community.

Here are just some of the academic highlights from UHV’s three schools that took place in 2019-2020:

School of Arts & Sciences

• The school announced that it would begin offering new degrees and concentrations to better meet the needs of students. The programs included the Master of Arts in Criminal Justice, Bachelor of Science in Digital Gaming & Simulation and a dual-concentration degree plan for both the counseling psychology and forensic psychology graduate programs. Students could choose between the professional counselor and psychological associate degree concentrations in the programs, leading to two Texas licensure options: the Licensed Professional Counselor or the Licensed Psychological Associate.
• The Master of Fine Arts in creative writing program continued to be recognized nationally for its quality and affordability. It was ranked the second-best online MFA in creative writing by Intelligent.com based on the program’s student engagement and potential return on investment, in addition to leading third-party evaluations. Guide to Online Schools and OnlineU ranked it seventh nationally on their Best Online MFA Programs list and eighth on their Most Affordable Online MFA Programs list. The two rankings were based on tuition rates and mid-career salaries of graduates.
• A free, two-day Online Data Science Boot Camp was offered for the first time to incoming high school seniors. The goal of the camp was to help students achieve a better understanding of data science and machine learning, identify data science tools and technology, and examine careers in data science.
• A partnership with Formosa Plastics Corp. allowed the university to teach a statistics course to 15 of the company’s engineers to help them better process data on the job.

School of Business Administration

• AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business reaccredited the school after a rigorous review process. AACSB accredits less than 5 percent of business schools worldwide and first accredited the UHV School of Business Administration in 2005.
• The school began offering a Master of Accountancy degree after requests from students who wanted a focused degree that would help prepare them for the CPA exam and pursue accounting careers. The school also offers a Strategic Master of Business Administration with a concentration in accounting.
• More than 100 business students experiencing economic hardships related to the COVID-19 pandemic received $300 grants after the school’s senior faculty donated at least 5 percent of their May paychecks to start a Student Assistance Fund and other faculty, staff and students also contributed to the fund.
• A Dean’s Advisory Board made up of Victoria area businesspeople, some of whom are UHV alumni, was relaunched as a way to increase opportunities for the school and its students to become more connected with the community.

School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development

• A $165,000 grant awarded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas to the University of Houston Foundation funded the expansion of a community-based program that focuses on ways to reduce chronic kidney disease in at-risk populations. The new grant allowed 50 more people to take part in the Victoria County program and the program to expand to 50 participants in Calhoun County. This was the second grant awarded to the program, which is led by a UHV faculty member.
• More than 140 students working to become teachers and other educators achieved a 100 percent passing rate in 10 of 13 subject areas on the Texas Education Agency’s Texas Educator Certification Examination. Students must take the exam to be certified to teach in Texas schools.
• The school began offering a Master of Science in Sport Management for students interested in becoming sports agents, fitness directors or general managers, or other careers in the business or organization side of sports.
• The Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies degree for students who want to become teachers was renamed the Bachelor of Science in Education after the state of Texas voted to allow educator preparation programs to use the new degree name as a way to better reflect what the degree actually is – a degree in education.