Houston City College (HCC), also known as the Houston City College System (HCCS), is a college that operates community colleges in Houston, Missouri City, Greater Katy, and Stafford in Texas. It is notable for actively recruiting internationally and for the large number of international students enrolled, over 5,700 in 2015. Its open enrollment policies, which do not require proficiency in English, are backed by a full-time 18-month English proficiency program and remedial courses.[3]
In 1927, the Houston Independent School District founded its first community colleges, Houston Junior College (for whites), which later evolved into the University of Houston and the Houston College for African American students (now Texas Southern University). In 1971, the district founded HCCS after HJC's and HCN's evolutions into the University of Houston and Texas Southern University respectively. In its early days, HCCS once used HISD school campuses for teaching facilities with classes during evenings and weekends like its founders. Around 1997, HCCS began to transfer operations to community college district-operated campuses throughout the HCCS service area.[5]
Former campus in Qatar
The country of Qatar operates Education City to bring U.S. universities to the Middle East. Houston Community College ran a satellite campus in Education City. However, in early 2016 HCC announced that they were "massively scaling back operations" and closed this campus.[6] Over a five-year period, Qatar's government paid HCC approximately $30.5 million to subsidize the Education City campus. In a news interview, the HCC Board of Trustees Treasurer said he did not support continuing the campus. "We're a community college to educate kids in our district," he said.[6] When HCC first sent teachers to its Qatar campus, the Qatari government made some of them return to the United States because they were Jewish.[6]
Libraries
HCC Libraries operates 17 library service locations: 1 Library Support Services office, 2 Electronic Resource Centers (ERCs), 4 Digital Access Centers (DACs), 9 Libraries, and 1 Learning Commons as of 2025.[7]
Central College
Central Campus Library
South Digital Access Center
Coleman College
Coleman Electronic Resource Center
Southeast College
Eastside Campus Library
Felix Fraga Digital Access Center
Northeast College
Acres Homes Electronic Resource Center (ERC)
Codwell Library at Northeast Campus
Originally located in Codwell Hall, the first building on campus, the library was later relocated to the third floor of the Learning Hub (Building 09) at Northeast Campus.[8]
North Forest Digital Access Center (DAC)
North Forest DAC is located in Building B, also known as the Workforce Building.[9]
Northline Campus Library
Northline Campus Library is located in Building A, also known as the Main Building. Northline's Digital Access Center, built in 2024, is operated separately from the library by Tutoring Services in Building E on campus.[10]
Southwest College
Missouri City Electronic Resource Center
Stafford Campus Library
West Loop Campus Library
Northwest College
Alief-Hayes Campus Library
Katy Campus Library at the Learning Commons
West Houston Institute Learning Commons
District Administration
Library Support Services at District Office
Library History
HCC Library Council, consisting of five college library directors and one library support services director, successfully advocated for the creation of the Executive Director of Libraries position to oversee its system in 2015.[citation needed]
Prior to 2019, the Electronic Resource Center (ERC) at Alief-Bissonnet Campus closed.[citation needed]
In August 2019, HCC's Pinemont Campus and its Electronic Resource Center (ERC) closed.[11]
Houston Community College System Administration Building
As peace officers, state law grants HCC Police the power to arrest without warrant for any felony, breach of the peace, disorderly conduct or intoxication offense that is committed in their presence or view while in Texas.[13] They may make an arrest pursuant to a warrant anywhere in Texas.[14] The HCC Police Department is divided into six divisions: Administrative, Criminal Investigations, Patrol, Bike Patrol, Training, Communications.
HCCTV began in 1994 when the City of Houston chose the Houston Community College System (HCCS) to operate one of its educational access channels. Already in place since 1980, HCCTV was the college system's video component, producing programs of education, training and college promotion.[15]
HCCS operates Houston Community College Television (HCCTV) on Xfinity Channel 19, TV Max Channel 97, Phonoscope Channel 77 and Cebridge Channel 20 and streamed over the internet. The studio complex, which has one large studio unit, five editing suites, and a digital master control system, is located at the HCC District Campus.[16]
Athletics
HCC offers several sports activities to its students throughout its campuses; the sports offered include:
HCC's Central Campus is composed of multiple buildings: Business and Careers Center (BSCC), Central Cooling Water Plant, Crawford Annex, Culinary Building (CAB), Educational Development Center (EDC), Fannin Building, Fine Arts Center (FAC), HCC Police, Heinen Theater, J. B. Whiteley Bldg. (JBW), J Don Boney Building, Dr. William W. Harmon Building (WWH), also known as the Learning Hub & Science Building (LHSB), Parking Garage, San Jacinto Memorial Building (SJB), Theater One, and the Veterans Center.[19]
South Campus (Houston)
HCC South Campus is in the Central Southwest area of Houston, and is served by the HCC South Campus bus station.
Alief Continuing Education Center (unincorporated Harris County)
Katy Campus (Katy)
The former Katy campus, originally known as Westgate at 1550 Foxlake Drive, closed in May 2022 with the college's relocation to a new Greater Katy campus location on 22910 Colonial Parkway.[24]
Spring Branch Campus (Houston)
Southeast College
Fraga Campus (Near Downtown)
[25] Southeast College is home to two separate campuses in different parts of the HCC Southeast service area.
Felix Fraga Academic Campus (Houston)
Felix Fraga is located in the Second Ward, [26] 1.25 miles east of Downtown Houston at 301 N. Drennan St. The campus opened January 2010 and was named for Felix Fraga by the HCC Board of Trustees in honor of his dedication to the educational, social, and economic success of the young people of Houston's southeast community and his devotion to improving their neighborhood. Fraga served as an HISD trustee, a member of the Houston City Council, and the Vice President of External Affairs for the Neighborhood Centers, Inc. before his death in 2024. Its flagship offerings include Maritime Logistics, Pre-Engineering, and other STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) classes.
↑ Manny Fernandez (October 30, 2015). "A Global Community's College". The New York Times. Retrieved November 3, 2015. Because the college has an open admission policy and does not require the Test of English as a Foreign Language, or Toefl, most students must go through an 18-month, full-time English-language program as well as remedial courses.
This list is incomplete. Many places on this list are not in the corporate limits of the City of Katy, but instead are unincorporated areas with "Katy, Texas" postal addresses.
This list is incomplete. Houses in the community of Silverlake have Pearland, Texas street addresses, but are outside of the Pearland city limits. (*) It was in the Pearland city limits from November 27, 2017 until March 26, 2018.
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