Student Success Update
Changes to UH Course Numbering System
UH is adopting the Texas Common Course Numbering System (TCCNS).
To reduce the number of excess credits transfer students accumulate which do not count toward their bachelor’s degree, the Texas State Legislature, through Senate Bill 25, has mandated that two- and four-year institutions align their coursework and implement the TCCNS. The system will help students easily identify the courses that meet the requirements of the bachelor’s degree program to which they will eventually transfer.
Currently, transfer students graduate with an average of 147.5 credit hours. Students who start at UH graduate with an average of 139 credit hours. The goal is to reduce the gap in excess credit hours by providing transparent and clear pathways from community colleges into the University.
Minorities in STEM Panel
The UH Chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) hosted a Minorities in STEM Panel on October 14. The event attracted approximately 100 attendees.
Panelists
- Donna Stokes, Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Affairs and Physics Professor
- Chin-Yo Lin, Associate Professor in the Department of Biology and Biochemistry
- Nouhad Rizk, Instructional Professor of Computer Science
- Dany Roman, Baylor College of Medicine Integrative Molecular and Biomedical Sciences Program and Founder, Baylor SACNAS Chapter
- Syed Shah, UH Ph.D. graduate in Chemistry
- Stephanie Suarez, EAS Ph.D. student and NSF Graduate Research Fellowship recipient
The event served as a practice run for a workshop presentation coordinated by UH undergraduate biology major Lorriza Saiz at the 2019 SACNAS Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. Biology undergraduate Hai Pham was awarded a prize for his research poster at the SACNAS Conference.
UH was also represented by four graduate students who gave poster presentations (Alejandro Ramirez and Casandra Morris, Physics; Gustavo Aguilar, Computer Science; and Emma Perez, Psychology) and undergraduates Christina Dias, Honors Biomedical Sciences, and Chayanne Solorzano, Biotechnology.
Students were accompanied by Dr. Ricardo Azevedo, Associate Chair for Graduate Affairs in the Department of Biology & Biochemistry; Melissa Lowrey, NSM Program Director for Graduate Studies; Rosezelia Jackson, Graduate Academic Advisor, Biology & Biochemistry; and Karen Maldonado, Graduate Academic Advisor, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences. NSM also staffed a recruiting booth at the conference.