Tejano Tribune Staff Report
A proposed faculty/staff dress code and concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) use by students were among topics discussed and debated during the Spring 2025 Faculty Association meeting as the semester faculty development workshop week drew to a close Jan. 16.
EPPC college president William Serrano touted continued enrollment growth despite ongoing budget and political challenges. Serrano cited the impact of Texas House Bill 8 (HB8), passed in 2023, on college funding, including the requirement from the state to hold the line on tuition increases through 2027.
Serrano said the college has not raised tuition since 2020, while taking advantage of scholarship funding that covers eight credit hours of a 12-credit semester, with students required to cover the remaining four hours.
Serrano also announced that EPCC was selected in November 2024 as one of five colleges in the state to begin offering an Opportunity High School Diploma (OHSD), a program also part of HB 8. EPCC will be joined by Alamo Colleges District, Dallas College, San Jacinto College District and Del Mar College in implementing the OHSD program later this year.
According to online information from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), the OHSD will provide adult students enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) programs “the opportunity to earn a high school diploma through concurrent enrollment in a competency-based education program.”
Serrano and Steve Smith, VP for Instruction and Workforce Education, also provided updates on college compliance with Senate Bill 17, also known as the DEI Bill; support for transfer student funding; deferred maintenance funding; and elevator improvements across the college district.
When microphones were opened for questions, Albert Burnham, faculty association president, raised concerns about a proposed faculty/staff dress code, suggesting that many in the room right then could be considered in violation of such a code.
Steve Smith said there is no dress requirement policy in place and the proposed code had yet to go through a required 21-day review. Smith asked Julie Penley, VP for Research, Accreditation and Planning, to detail shared governance procedures. Penley maintained that the proposal will go through what she called a “robust approval process.”
Smith added that the various school districts partnering with EPCC in the Early College programs have their own dress code policies for students. Further, Smith said, enforcement of any code adopted will be up to supervisors.
In response, Burnham clarified that would mean campus deans would be responsible for enforcement. Another question came up challenging the wording of the proposed dress code. Association VP for Full Time Faculty, Elizabeth Acosta, said the proposed code seemed to be gender specific and targeted women dress and decorum.
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