Mayor Annise Parker has spent many years in service to the people of Houston, with six years as a City Council member and six years as City Controller. She is the first person in Houston's history to hold the offices of council member, controller and mayor. This is her second term as mayor; and she is seeking re-election to a third in the 2013 Mayoral Election to be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2013 in the City of Houston.
Mayor Parker, TSU Sign Agreement For City Employees To Receive Graduate Degree Credits
-- Employees Seeking To Earn Master's Degrees
Helped Through City's Educational Center
HOUSTON -- Mayor Annise Parker has announced a partnership with Texas Southern University's (TSU) Barbara Jordan Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs to enable city employees who complete courses offered at the E.B. Cape Center the opportunity to receive credit and enroll at TSU with reduced course load to help them get a head start in obtaining a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree.
The E.B. Cape Center serves as the City of Houston's corporate university, designing and providing learning programs to help employees enhance their skills and job competencies for improved performance and job satisfaction.
“As a service delivery organization, the City of Houston aggressively seeks to provide our residents with better, faster, and more efficient services. To do that effectively, we want to make it easier for our employees to receive an advanced education and help through the educational services already offered by us as their employer,” said Mayor Parker.
Employees will be required to fulfill all prerequisites and apply to TSU’s MPA programs, either the traditional classroom program or the online eMPA program. Once accepted, a maximum of six graduate credit hours of the required 48, may be transferred based on the employee’s E.B. Cape Center course completions. The university also agrees to waive the required graduate school program’s internship/practicum, a six-hour requirement, based on the city employee’s experience.
City employees will be required to bring their official transcript from the E.B. Cape Center so each class can be assessed. TSU has committed to review any classes an employee has taken before applying to the MPA program, and is waiving the $25 review fee. They also will evaluate accredited college transcripts at no additional charge.
According to Texas Southern University President Dr. John M. Rudley, "The Master of Public Administration program of the Barbara Jordan - Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University is proud to enter into a historic Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Houston's E.B.Cape Center to offer expanded educational opportunities to city employees. Dr. Michael O. Adams, Interim Chair of the Political Science Department at Texas Southern University, helped forge this historic partnership in his role as the Director of the eMPA and MPA programs. City of Houston employees will now have on-site access to the TSU eMPA and MPA programs as well as three certificate programs at the E.B. Cape Center to continue their education and professional development.”
The Memorandum of Understanding states that the City of Houston is committed to provide internal college fairs and marketing support for the program. TSU commits to assisting city employees through the registration and credit review process. TSU will provide career counseling services to city employees who enroll in the program for free.
