VICTORIA COLLEGE
2200 E. Red River
Victoria, TX 77901
(361) 573-3291
Website: www.vc.cc.tx.us

The Victoria College, founded in 1925, is an open door admission institution providing high-quality educational programs and services which fulfill the needs of the individual and the community. The College is located at 2200 East Red River.

Enrollment: 3,951 (fall 2007)
Cost: $500 to $750 full-time (12 credit hours), in-county cost per semester (tuition, fees and books) Student/Teacher Ratio: Approximately 25:1
Certificates/Degrees: One-year Certificate, Certificate of General Studies, Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, Associate of Applied Science

The College is committed to offering the following components:

• academic courses applicable to the baccalaureate degree,
• technical and vocational programs designed to satisfy local and regional demands,
• developmental education programs designed to fulfill the commitment of an open admissions policy,
• continuing education,
• services, including counseling and guidance, that enable students to develop and pursue personal goals and to become more productive members of the community and society as a whole
• resources to enhance the intellectual and cultural life of the community,
• work force development programs designed to meet local and statewide needs
• adult literacy and other basic skills programs for adults.

Academic Transfer Courses:
The Victoria College offers the freshman and sophomore courses which apply to most four-year degrees including but not limited to Business, Education, Engineering, Science, and Computer Science. Formal transfer agreements are in place with many Texas colleges and universities.

UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON-VICTORIA
3006 N. Ben Wilson
Victoria, TX 77901
(361) 570-4848
Enrollment: 2,784 (Fall 2007)
Website: www.uhv.edu

Education has played a major role in the life of the Golden Crescent region since 1824. Records indicate that the original city plot of Victoria provided a site for a school. Even with the early focus on education, however, upper-level higher educational opportunities were were not made available until the 1970's.

Many junior college students and graduates in the region wanted to continue study beyond the associate's degree. Also, a growing number of people with bachelor's degrees were anxious to pursue master's degrees. Most of these potential uriiversity students had families and jobs in the area and leaving home would be difficult, if not impossible. Acting on this need, a group of local citizens began working in April 1969 to bring an upper-level institution to Victoria. After numerous meetings between Texas legislators and community leaders, the Coordinating Board of the Texas College and University System granted approval to establish an off-campus center of the University of Houston. In 1973, 105 students entered the newly opened University of Houston Victoria Center. Ten years later, in April 1983, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 235, and the center became the University of Houston-Victoria, with permanent status as a degree-granting university.

The University of Houston-Victoria shares with all institutions of higher education the universal mission of teaching, research, and service. It shares with the other institutions of the University of Houston System a special responsibility to serve educational needs, to promote economic well being, and to advance the quality of life in the Coastal Bend region of Texas.

The University's most distinctive commitment is to make higher education accessible to able students who might otherwise lack the opportunity. Its most compelling commitment is to make the quality of education they receive competitive. The university emphasizes student learning, related research, responsiveness to student needs, and collaboration in the development and delivery of academic programs. Outreach has characterized its mission and history.

The university is an upper-level and graduate institution with selected bachelor's and master's degree programs in the arts and sciences, business administration, and education. Although UHV primarily serves commuting students from Victoria and surrounding counties it also offers degree programs in collaboration with other UH System institutions at it's campus in Sugarland and Cinco Ranch and courses at a number of other off-campus sites in the region. The university admits only students whose records demonstrate successful academic performance at the college level.

In addition to degree program, the university extends educational, informational, and cultural opportunities to the public through library services, continuing education and professional development programs, and a variety of special events.