South Texas College Computer Science faculty members are on their way to Atlanta this December to present at the prestigious Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges National Conference. The proposal and presentation will focus on Competency-Based Education.

The faculty members include Saeed Molki, associate professor of Computer Science and Menghung Wu, professor of Computer Information Technology. Computer Science instructors Nicholas Hinojosa and Gabriel Viera will also attend under the guidance of Esmaeili. Wu and Hinojosa will serve as the presenters at the conference. 

SACSCOC is the body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the southern states for colleges such as STC. 

“It is a great honor and gives our college prestige and speaks to the quality of our faculty to have been selected to present for one of the best accreditation agencies in the United States,” said Ali Esmaeili, STC dean for Math, Science, Information Technology and Bachelor programs. “I’m so proud of our faculty for putting together a proposal that impressed the selection team.” 

“STC is a leader in competency-based education. We were the first to open these types of courses,” said Wu. “Transitioning curriculum to include CBE courses is a challenge and our expertise gets sought out by other institutions statewide and nationally; they want to know how we’ve become so successful in this area.”

Helping Other Develop CBE

Esmaeili is excited to have his team of CBE experts present at the conference. Those in attendance will include presidents, chancellors, administrators, faculty and staff from other institutions of higher education. 

“This team is made up of experts in CBE. They’ve developed solid courses and we can’t wait to showcase them and help other institutions of higher education develop their own CBE courses,” said Esmaeili. “It’s all about working together for the best interests of our students. We want this to open doors for others.”

Molki said the presentation will also give an inside, in-depth look into the CBE structure.

“We (STC) started from scratch when designing CBE courses, and this presentation is going to be instrumental for those exploring this option,” he said. “The point is to help our students keep going, growing and get that promotion with accessible, accelerated and affordable education.”