Tarrant County College trustees voted at their March board meeting to cut all architectural technology programs offered by the college.
The programs — an associate of applied science in architectural technology and three certificates in the field — had low graduation rates, Stephen Jones, vice president for academic affairs at the South Campus, said during a March work session for TCC trustees.
“We have to have a special agreement with the university to transfer certain courses,” he said. “And that’s what the students realize, because if you look at the numbers, we have high enrollment. Once they figure out the courses are not transferable, then they go straight to the university.”
Making the courses transferrable would require adding more studio time, Jones said. That is not feasible because it would require adding a full-time faculty member, an adjunct faculty member and more equipment, he added.
Architecture adjunct professor Arnie Radman, who was previously the director of TCC’s program before his retirement, said the lack of course transferability had troubled the program for years. He said he made efforts to address the problem during his tenure as director but felt progress stalled after his retirement.
He said he was not surprised by the outcome of Thursday night’s vote, but that he wished the college had fixed the transfer issues instead of eliminating the program.
Credit loss is not a new challenge for college students.
A 2017 report from the United States Government Accountability Office estimated that students who transferred from community colleges to public universities lost an estimated 22% of their credits.
A 2019 Texas law aimed to reduce wasted credits as lawmakers noted nearly $58 million a year in taxpayer dollars was spent on courses that did not transfer.
Negative impacts on students from losing credits can include the cost of additional courses, more student debt and lost wages due to extra time spent in school, according to the Texas Association of Community Colleges. Students may feel frustrated or choose to drop out, reducing their lifetime earning potential.
Each degree program at TCC is reviewed every three years. For community colleges, a program is considered to be “low-producing” by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board if it has less than 25 graduates in five years.
Data presented to trustees showed that for the last five school years, 508 students enrolled in the associate of arts program but only 17 graduated.
The architectural CAD operator certificate had 182 students over the same time period, with 13 graduates. The architectural paraprofessional certificate saw 136 students enroll and 15 graduate. The architectural technology occupation skills certificate had 26 enrolled students and 12 graduates.
Although students may transfer before earning a credential, TCC’s program is still valuable to them and to the success of the profession in the region, Radman argues. The professor said it offers students the opportunity to get their feet wet in the architecture field at a low cost.
“When you’re late teens, early 20s, mid 20s, you’re still figuring out who you are,” he said. “This gives them a chance to see if this is what they like, if this is what they want to do with the rest of their life.”
Another reason Jones also noted to TCC trustees is that the architecture credentials “do not align with current business and industry needs.”
Industry advisers could not identify any jobs that graduates of the programs could enter with those credentials, Jones said at the meeting.
Radman disagreed with this assessment, saying architecture firms had often contacted him when he was a full-time faculty member seeking his students for potential entry-level positions.
Cutting the programs will save TCC an estimated $165,000 per year, officials said.
At the January board of trustees meeting, Chancellor Elva LeBlanc previewed that some “obsolete” programs would be cut as the system deals with “a new reality” for its budget.
“We are looking at every program, all areas of the college, and making sure that we have the resources where they are needed,” she said. “It does require some transformational change for all of us in many areas.”
A statewide tuition freeze and decreasing property tax revenue from an appraisal freeze are putting pressure on the college’s budget.
No full-time faculty members will be negatively impacted as a result of the cuts, LeBlanc said at the March 12 board of trustees work session. Adjunct faculty would not lose jobs either as most teach multiple classes, officials said.
The 140 students currently enrolled will be able to complete their programs and will receive advising to that end, Jones said. He also noted that future architecture program offerings are on the table.
“We are actively in conversations with university partners to explore future opportunities in the field of architecture,” he said.
McKinnon Rice is the higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at mckinnon.rice@fortworthreport.org.
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The Report’s higher education coverage is supported in part by major higher education institutions in Tarrant County, including Tarleton State University, Tarrant County College, Texas A&M-Fort Worth, Texas Christian University, Texas Wesleyan University, the University of Texas at Arlington and UNT Health Science Center. Atthe Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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