Thomas Mills, President, Hill College
Invest: spoke with Thomas Mills, president of Hill College, about the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence, the growth of dual credit programs, and the college’s role in supporting workforce development across its five-county service area. Mills added that Texas community colleges remain essential to regional prosperity. “The role we play is absolutely fundamental to economic development and economic stability.”
What are the biggest changes shaping Hill College’s priorities and strategy?
The biggest change we are aware of is the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence on multiple levels within higher education. The most obvious is how students use the tools. We have taken the approach that we want to teach students the appropriate and ethical use of artificial intelligence. It is a tremendous tool and can really be leveraged to do a lot of things. I think a majority of employers are going to expect new employees to have some level of competence in that area.
We also want to leverage that technology to better utilize our current employees so that we can stretch their ability and productivity, because money is always tight. That leads to the next area, which is our budgeting situation. We are a healthy institution, and higher education, particularly community college education in Texas, is extremely healthy and well-funded. We have our challenges, but the state has been supportive.
Most institutions at the state level are funded through three sources: state funding, tax revenue, and tuition and fees. It varies widely across the 50 community colleges. In our situation, each accounts for about a third, but other institutions are heavier in ad valorem tax revenue. We are also seeing disruption and change based on changes with the federal government, the Department of Education, and other pieces of the current administration.
What workforce trends are having the greatest impact, and how are you working with local employers to prepare students?
The primary way we work with employers is through advisory groups or advisory committees. Whenever we have a technical program, we are required to have an advisory committee consisting of various players within the industry. They provide up-to-date support and information and help direct the construction and delivery of our curriculum.
We are a medium-sized school, so we do not have every possible technical or workforce program. We are also perpetually trying to meet with industry partners to investigate the possibility of bringing on new programs if they will partner with us.
Where do you see the greatest opportunities for development in the years ahead?
For my institution, I think the greatest opportunity is in healthcare. We have a fairly small collection of healthcare programs, and we would like to expand that to meet the need. Where we are located, as suburbia reaches farther and farther out, it is becoming more important for us to be able to supply healthcare workers.
That is one area. The basic trade areas of electrical and plumbing are also extremely important. Those are the areas that have the most potential for growth for us as an institution.
How is Hill College balancing short-term credentials, technical training, and traditional degree programs?
We are interested and committed to developing shorter-term credentials, particularly within our technical programs. These are credentials that stack together. As you add them together, they lead to higher-level credentials of value and ultimately to an associate degree and possibly to a bachelor’s degree. We are an associate degree-granting institution.
How is the student demographic changing, and where are you seeing the most interest?
The massive change, and this has been going on for decades but is really accelerating, is dual credit: concurrent students taking college classes while they are enrolled in high school, prior to high school graduation. Almost 50% of our credit-hour production is through dual credit presently. That is shifting our demographic massively.
We are getting a lot more students that way, and we are getting fewer students who come from high school to community college, largely because we have done such a good job with dual credit. Even if they have not achieved an associate degree while they are in high school, they have enough hours to feel comfortable. They know they can be successful in college, and they have knocked a year or two off their degree. We see a lot of them going directly to four-year institutions, whereas a significant fraction of those students historically would have come to a community college. Our dual credit enrollment continues to grow, and we expect that to continue.
How are you adapting to help students succeed as they balance school, work, and family responsibilities?
It is a challenge. As a society, we have developed a short attention span, and we have crammed so much into our lives that we do not seem to have enough time to do anything well.
We are trying to help in any way we can, especially with wraparound services for students, whether that is tutoring, orientation, or things like that. The things that get in the way of students are often outside the classroom. It is the ability to pay an electric bill, make a car payment, or have transportation to and from the college. These are issues that students have through no fault of their own. They are part of life, but they can really get in the way.
We focus a lot of our fundraising on emergency scholarships for those situations. That is probably the biggest way we are adapting. We are spending more time and more money on those resources.
How are you balancing funding for capital projects, expansions, and campus renovations?
That is going to vary widely from institution to institution. Our institution does not carry any debt, so we do everything with fund balance. Historically, the institution has not been as well-funded, but the state has really upped its contribution, and we have a fairly modest tax rate.
We have a tremendous amount of deferred maintenance, and that is really what we are focusing on. We do not have any major capital projects now, though we have big dreams. We want to add more residence halls and various facilities. For the time being, we are mostly taking care of what we already have because it is in need. We are working on what we have as opposed to capital growth.
How has Hill College’s relationship with local businesses and economic development entities evolved?
It has evolved into a robust relationship. We are involved with a multitude of civic organizations across our service area. We are involved with economic development councils, either as voting members or ex-officio members, and we are involved with chambers.
We have a small group of leaders who are the face of the institution. We are constantly trying to be part of the discussion and part of the solution for workforce or educational needs for all entities across our five-county service area.
What are your top priorities for Hill College over the next two to three years?
Our highest priority is to continue to exude excellence and build upon the excellence that we already deliver. We are trying to strategically develop some new programs. We would really like to bring more students onto our campus by making it a residential campus. That is a high priority.
Adapting to the artificial intelligence challenge and adapting to cybersecurity challenges are also significant and costly priorities for us.
Are there any additional comments you would like to include?
There are 50 Texas community colleges statewide, and as a group, they educate more students than any other group of institutionss. Over 700,000 students attend Texas community colleges.
We play perhaps the most important role there is in workforce training and training people to get what they need to go to work, earn a good living, and have career mobility. I do feel like we are a little underestimated and perhaps underappreciated by the general public, because the role we play is absolutely fundamental to economic development and economic stability.
