Bailey addresses Brownsville leaders on issues, projects

UTRGV President Guy Bailey has briefed local officials on issues that include the school’s accreditation status, campus expansion and educational opportunities for students.

On Thursday, about 100 Brownsville leaders attended the address, conducted at the PlainsCapital Bank El Gran Salón in Brownsville.

At the beginning of the meeting, Bailey said that although UTRGV is on probation status, the university is still fully accredited for this spring semester.

“We would rather not be on it. We also think it’s something that we can deal with. The good news is that we still are accredited. Students are not affected negatively in any way, and that it is the most important thing,” Bailey told The Rider in an interview after his address.

Last month, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges placed UTRGV on a 12-month probation for a number of reasons, including integrity, financial aid audits and acceptance of academic credits.

The SACSCOC is the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states.

UTRGV is expecting a letter from SACSCOC later this month regarding the accreditation standards.

Brownsville Mayor Tony Martinez said he is not concerned about the probation status of UTRGV.

“I am not concerned about that. I was very familiar with what they were doing to begin with the accreditation. … The process seems to be the issue and you can correct procedure,” Martinez said.

During the meeting, Bailey said new facilities are under construction that will help the university to expand.

“We are excited about new buildings coming up. There will be one in November 2018 and one in February 2018 in Brownsville. These [buildings] will really help with space issues and help us offer more things for our students,” he said.

The $54 million Academic Building on the Brownsville campus will consist of two structures that will support general academics, science teaching labs and provide flexible spaces for study and student collaboration.

On the Edinburg campus, the $70 million Science Research Building will include classrooms, teaching labs, faculty and researcher offices, and research labs supporting biological and physical sciences, including biology, physics, chemistry, math, pre-med and environmental studies, according to the UTRGV website.

Bailey said one of the goals of UTRGV is to expand educational opportunities for students.

“The medical school is the most obvious example of that. But, we are in the process of creating other programs also,” he said.

As previously reported by The Rider, 20 new programs are now offered on the Brownsville campus, which include a bachelor of arts in Mexican American Studies, a master’s of science in manufacturing engineering and a minor in medical humanities.

In Edinburg, five new programs are available, which include a bachelor of business administration in materials management and logistics, a bachelor’s of science in marine biology and a master’s of science in physics.

The primary goal of UTRGV is to make sure students graduate in a range of four years, according to Bailey.

“Our goals are always to help our students be successful. We want our students to do well in school, to take 15 hours or more and to graduate in four years; that is our primary goal,” he said.

Martinez said he is pleased with the progress that UTRGV is making as a new entity.

“We all have the tendency to want to do it faster. We want to offer more, especially if you are someone like myself who represents the constituency of Brownsville. … We always want something faster and something better, but [UTRGV] is going in the right direction,” he said.

IDEA Frontier Principal Alex Anzaldua was among the attendees.

“I am very proud to see the direction that UTRGV is going and what it’s going to be able to provide to the students in our area,” he said.