Administration

Adult Education Programs Overview

The Adult Education Programs at Houston Community College are housed administratively within the Division of College Readiness and are led by Dr. David Joost, Director of Adult Education Programs. Dr. Joost represents Literacy providers on the Gulf Coast Workforce Development Board and is appointed by the Mayor of Houston to represent Houston Community College on the Board of Directors of the Houston Center for Literacy. The components of Adult Education Programs area include:

Adult Education and Literacy (AEL)

Houston Community College is the largest single provider of Adult Education in Texas, serving more than 10,000 adult learners annually.  Adult Education and Literacy programs help adult learners to acquire the basic skills they need to be productive workers, responsible family members, and engaged citizens. Basic Reading, Math, Writing, and English Communication skills are crucial for adult learners who wish to complete a secondary school credential, participate in postsecondary education and career training programs or obtain improved employment.

English as-a-Second Language (ESL), Adult Basic Education (ABE) and GED^® Preparation (GED^®) classes are held throughout the Harris and Fort Bend Counties at more than fifty (50) off-campus and HCC campus locations. HCC also leads a consortium of seven (7) high visibility nonprofit organizations that make up the Houston Literacy Consortium.

AEL classes are virtually free, with learners paying only a modest registration fee. Waivers to the fee apply in certain cases. Adult Education and Literacy classes are supported through funding from the Gulf Coast Workforce Development Board.

To be eligible for AEL services adult learners must:

• Be at least 18 years of age with certain exceptions
• 17 year olds must produce documentation of withdrawal from secondary education and parental permission for enrollment into AEL classes
• 16 year olds must produce documentation of judicial supervision and withdrawal from secondary education
• Not be in country by visa of any kind
• Lack a secondary school credential or
• Lack basic English proficiency or
• Lack basic skills at the secondary school completion level

Adult Learners should be prepared to produce a government issued identification card.

The GED^® test at HCC is administered by the Office of Student Services.

Community-Based Job Training (CBJT)

Community-Based Job Training Program (CBJT) classes practice the ATX model and are structured to take place primarily at the facilities of selected nonprofit organizations, taking advantage of wrap-around services available to participating adult learners at those locations.

Adult learners entering Community-Based Job Training Programs

• Must be eligible for legal employment in the U.S.
• May or may not possess a valid secondary school credential (high school diploma or GED^®)
• Must concurrently enroll in a contextualized Adult Education course
• Must enroll in an approved noncredit career pathway

CBJT practices a financial design that makes sustainability of its services more affordable for nonprofit organizations by offering training a reduced cost to their clients.

In certain cases financial aid is available.

Integrated Education and Training Courses (MIET and RIET)

Math Integrated Education and Training (MIET) and Reading Integrated Education and Training (RIET) courses are designed for adult learners who:

• Are eligible for legal employment in the U.S.
• Possess a valid secondary education credential
• Are unprepared for entry into college-level coursework
• Score at TSIA Level Three or TSIA Level Four
• Concurrently enroll in an approved credit-bearing career pathway program

MIET and RIET courses improve the Reading and Math proficiencies of adult learners while they simultaneously complete an approved credit-bearing career pathway degree or certificate program. Both MIET and RIET are contextualized to the content of the applicable career pathway thereby making Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) more relevant.

Modest course fees and some fee waivers apply. Course fees for MIET and RIET are not covered by federal student aid.

Vocational Adult Basic Education Courses (VABE)

VABE courses are designed to improve the basic Reading, Math, Writing and English Communication proficiencies of adult learners who:

• Are eligible for legal employment in the U.S.
• May or may not possess a valid secondary school credential
• Are concurrently enrolled in an approved noncredit career pathway
• Meet other applicable noncredit career pathway requirements

Modest course fees and some fee waivers apply. Course fees for VABE are not covered by federal student aid.

Texas Research-based Adult Instruction Network for Professional Development (TRAIN-PD)

Houston Community College (HCC) Adult Education Program is one of seven community college programs included by Texas A&M University’s (TAMU) Texas Center for Adult Literacy and Learning (TCALL) in its successful grant application for the Texas Research-based Adult Instruction Network for Professional Development (TRAIN PD) project funded through the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC).

Led by TCALL, the TRAIN PD consortium is designed to take advantage of the expertise of local programs and trainers who are recognized as having made exceptional contributions to professional development in the field of Adult Education. This model is a dramatic reconfiguration relative to earlier statewide practices and is intended to improve consistency, uniformity and quality of the core proficiencies needed by Adult Education faculty, administrators and paraprofessionals.

Along with TCALL and HCC, six community colleges originally made up the statewide TRAIN PD consortium including, Alamo Colleges, Austin Community College, College of the Mainland, El Paso Community College, South Texas College, and Tarrant Community College District.

Adult High School and Test Preparation

The Adult High School (AHS) and Test Preparation Program is a self-supporting fee-based program that delivers high school-level Carnegie units to students who fall short of their graduation requirements and need to complete 1-2 high school credits in order to graduate.  All AHS courses are taught by certified instructors and the credits are accepted for graduation requirements by secondary schools in Texas.

AHS also operates the fee-based GED^® program which provides an option for students who unable to enroll in the grant-supported GED^® preparation program because of schedule or location conflicts.