STC set to launch new, virtual campus

McALLEN — South Texas College officials have spent the past year-and-a-half readying an August launch of the school’s sixth and newest campus — albeit one that no student will ever set foot on.

The virtual eSTC — which would offer all payment, advising and course services entirely online — would propel the college into a select group of public institutions across the nation that host fully integrated, online options for nontraditional students.

“Many students and residents work all day and can’t take a class at night, some older students don’t have the technical knowledge, and some prefer online instruction,” STC President Shirley Reed said. “This is a way to accommodate the growing diversity of students without (new) buildings.”

At a board of trustees’ meeting Monday, officials explained the college essentially is catching up to what students have expected for a while.

In fall of 2008, 22.6 percent of non-dual-enrollment STC students, about 3,405 of them, took on online course. Two years later, that number grew to 25.4 percent, an increase of more than 1,600 students.

“That really means that one out of every four students you see walking on this campus is enrolled in these online classes,” said Brett Millan, interim director of distance education. “By the fall of 2020, we project — and this was a conservative projection — that we will hit 10,000 students taking online courses.

“I believe we are the only community college or university in the state of Texas trying to do a virtual campus,” he added. “We’re not just teaching classes. We’re also providing students the services.”

Every service — including advisement, registration and getting books — will be available online when eSTC launches in the first two weeks of August.

“A student will rarely, if ever, have to step on our campus,” Millan said.

He explained only a few departments — like admissions and records, student support and financial aid — need a virtual makeover to meet that deadline.

But the college already has launched a pilot student services chat room, and in just 13 days of operations, students held 152 sessions with STC employees.

Only Trustee and Board Chairman Gary Gurwitz expressed hesitation over creating an all-virtual campus, asking administrators if “this is a competition we really want to be in.”

Reed, however, was firm in her conviction that it was a worthwhile effort.

“One of our biggest competitors is … doing nothing,” she said. “‘I can’t get to campus, therefore I don’t do anything.’ This electronic age is coming so fast, and we’re already late designing it.”

STIPENDS

On Monday, the board voted to save STC more than $412,000 by eliminating a number of stipends and benefits that nursing and allied health employees have enjoyed.

Juan Mejia, vice president for academic affairs, said a task force led by faculty members recommended the cuts, which affect vacation and holidays, summer contract extensions and higher compensation for higher degrees.

“We did grandfather in our current employees though,” Mejia said. “These cuts don’t bring us fully into the black. We’re still about $1.5 million in the red.

“But this will definitely help.”

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Neal Morton covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956)683-4472.