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THECB reports workforce education grants, IT shared-services pilot and new Texas Opportunity High School Diploma program
Summary
The THECB workforce education director updated LTAC on Perkins and TRU grant rounds, a pilot IT research subscription for community colleges, and a competency-based Texas Opportunity High School Diploma program expected to launch in late 2025.
The Higher Education Coordinating Boardworkforce education division summarized recent grant activity, a shared-services IT pilot and a new competency-based credential program intended to serve adults without a high school diploma.
Workforce Education Director Jet Parks said the Texas Reskilling and Upskilling (TRU) grant awarded $12.7 million in 202425 across 43 grants supporting 136 credential programs in high-demand sectors including health care, information technology and construction trades; nearly 400 credential programs across Texas have received TRU support since 2022.
Parks described Perkins Basic mid-year carryover funding that provided an additional $6 million this cycle to community and technical colleges to support career and technical education. He noted 11 Perkins leadership grants are active to implement statewide CTE initiatives.
Parks outlined a THECB IT research and advisory subscription pilot for community colleges focused on IT roadmaps and strategic sourcing. Five institutions were selected for the pilot (Del Mar College, Lee College, South Texas College, Trinity Valley College and Wharton County Junior College) and the coordinating board expected to award a vendor contract in March.
On credentials, Parks described the Texas Opportunity High School Diploma (OSHD) program for adults without a high school diploma that allows students to earn a diploma while completing a career and technical education program at a two-year college. Participating institutions include Alamo Colleges, Dallas College, Del Mar College, El Paso Community College and San Jacinto College. Subject-matter experts from those institutions are developing assessments for five core competency areas; assessment development is expected to be completed by April with a targeted statewide launch in the third quarter of 2025.
Parks also reported activity on postsecondary prison education advisory work and coordination with Windham School District and other stakeholders to align prison education programs with employment outcomes.
Ending: Parks invited follow-up questions and said THECB staff would provide more information about the IT subscription pilot and assessment timelines to interested institutions.
