What exactly is University of Houston System at Cinco Ranch (UHSCR)? A university?  Some sort of branch campus?  A community college?
UHSCR is a teaching center where junior, senior, and graduate courses from universities in the UH System are offered to serve the educational needs of the Katy and West Houston region.  The facility is a 36,000-square-foot building that has undergone high-tech enhancements for electronic delivery of courses, with 20 classrooms, computer labs, a student lounge, library, and videoconferencing rooms.

Is UHSCR  a recent development?   
Actually, UHSCR has been at its present location since 1989, although the operation has been constantly evolving and expanding in the west Houston and Katy area since 1980.  In 2001, it began offering degree programs delivered by all four UH system universities: University of Houston, UH-Clear Lake, UH-Downtown, and UH-Victoria. With some minor seasonal fluctuations, enrollment has been growing steadily during the past decade.  For example, we have averaged about 3,000 enrollments annually for the past two years, roughly a 50 percent increase since 2003. Each semester, approximately 100 courses are available at UHSCR, supporting more than 30 bachelor’s and master’s degree programs at UH System institutions.  

So, to take classes at UHSCR, you must be admitted to one of the four UH System universities?
Yes – however, UH-Downtown has recently decided not to continue offering classes at UHSCR.  Instead, it will focus exclusively on its downtown campus and the new Northwest Houston teaching center. 

How will that affect UHSCR? 
There may be some transitional challenges, as UH-Downtown students who have been taking courses at UHSCR decide whether to transfer to another program, which they can do without losing any credits.   But the overall impact on UHSCR should be negligible.  UH, UH-Clear Lake and UH-Victoria will continue to offer a broad array of courses and can expand their offerings to meet demand.  Business classes, which were offered primarily by UH-Downtown, will now be available through UH-Victoria, for example.  And the University of Houston will begin offering a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies.

Any other notable course additions?
UH-Victoria’s School of Nursing has begun offering Second Degree BSN courses at UHSCR.  The classes are part of an accelerated one-year program for graduates who would like to enter the nursing profession as RNs. They enter the program in the spring and take three intensive semesters (each is 20-plus hours) and graduate in December.  For information, see http://www.uhv.edu/nursing/2dbsn/ .

What if someone needs freshman and sophomore courses? Can UHSCR help?
Yes.   We have partnered with Houston Community College (HCC), which now offers selected classes on site at UHSCR.  We work directly with HCC (and other area community colleges) to facilitate the transfer of freshmen and sophomore credits to our UHS undergraduate degree programs.

What plans are there for the future?
A task force to identify higher education academic needs for the region is being formed.  The purpose is to then develop business models for bringing identified, priority programs to the Katy area.  The University of Houston System is undergoing master planning exercises, and the Cinco Ranch campus is a vital part of the process.