DIVISION OF INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICES

The Student Success Office was established to advise and guide students during their academic career and to provide pertinent information to TSTC administration, faculty and staff to determine student success, retention and persistence to graduation.

Departmental Mission Statement

The Student Success Office supports the mission of the College and the Instructional Division by providing coordination and implementation of student success initiatives designed to promote technical program students' persistence until graduation and non-program students' transfer to colleges and universities. In addition, this office provides student success interventions to all students, including those not in a program or seeking transfer credit to another college or university. The student success interventions offered through this department are the coordination of a tutoring/mentoring program, the referral of students to appropriate college and community resources, the development and instruction of the Freshman Seminar, assessment of student needs to determine appropriate intervention strategies, and the tracking of first-year in college technical program students until graduation. The primary outcomes for these interventions are to increase graduation rates and enable students to successfully attain their academic, career, and personal goals.

History

The Student Success Office at Texas State Technical College Harlingen was established in September of 1997. During the Spring semester of 1997, President J. Gilbert Leal appointed nineteen TSTC staff and faculty members to an ad hoc committee assigned to develop a plan to improve student retention and persistence to graduation. The plan was completed and submitted to Dr. Leal in July of 1997.

The ad hoc committee believed it was important to establish a Student Success Office and staff the office with a full-time professional. Hiring a retention coordinator in September of 1997completed this recommendation.  In 2004, the coordinator position was changed to a director for student success. A Student Success Advisory Committee was established to identify obstacles to graduation, to recommend programs and services for student success and to evaluate retention initiatives.

For further information contact:

Maria Del Angel, Department Secretary
Phone: (956) 364-4109
Fax: (956) 364-5114