At the approval of the UH System Board of Regents, the UH-Sugar Land campus will see a major overhaul of its offered upperclassmen programs in coming years.
“As a first step in this process, (Chancellor and President Renu Khator) appointed the University of Houston Sugar Land Task Force to examine the issues involved in such a major undertaking, in order to assure that the best interests of students, the community and the UH System were being served,” according to the task force’s final report to the Board of Regents.
The UH System will begin implementing a plan in Fall 2014 through which UH will become the exclusive provider of baccalaureate and graduate programs at the Sugar Land campus.
UH plans to launch or expand 22 programs in Sugar Land, including C.T. Bauer College of Business’ bachelor’s and master’s programs in business administration, 12 programs in the College of Education and eight programs in the College of Technology, according to the report.
In addition, the UH-Victoria School of Nursing’s program in Sugar Land will be transferred to UH as part of the newly organized Health Science Center to be nearer to Houston’s Texas Medical Center, where the program already conducts several programs.
The task force recommended to the board that during the time of expansions to UH programs in Sugar Land, transfer of UH-V and UH-Clear Lake programs should be timed in a manner that provides continuity in course and program availability.
The group also suggested that some level of renovation would be necessary at the Sugar Land campus in order to accommodate the incoming programs and the accompanying faculty.
“These recommendations are pretty bold. I agree that these guiding principles are imperative. I know there is some trepidation, naturally, among people currently operating there. It’s my expectation and (the board’s) expectation that implementation of this plan be done in very thoughtful and careful way,” said Regent Roger Welder, member of the task force to UH.
“It’s clear to me that the city of Sugar Land and Fort Bend County really want this. They’ve been waiting a long time for it, so the timing is appropriate.”
Sugar Land Mayor James Thompson and Fort Bend County Judge Robert Hebert were part of the decision-making process in the task force, alongside Provost Paula Short, former Board of Regents Chair Welcome Wilson Sr. and others.
Short will lead the project’s implementation committee and is beginning to develop a transition plan. The committee will include administrators from the UH System, UH-SL and UH-V, as well as students and faculty from UH-SL and UH-V.
