RGC Success Story
by Juan O. Sanchez

Sul Ross State University Rio Grande College (RGC) is closing in on a milestone as it nears 3,000 degrees conferred on students throughout Southwest Texas.

Why is this so important?

A close look at the region and the students served by RGC shows how this institution continues to enhance the socio/economic makeup of its region.

Even though the 13-county, 18,896-square-mile RGC service region is larger than the combined area of Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut and New Jersey, these states are served by several well-endowed institutions of higher learning. Plus, their graduates have extensive job opportunities.

Contrarily, our Southwest Texas economy usually lags behind other regions of the state and nation. But, herein lies the key to the importance of RGC’s role as the only Southwest Texas institution that offers the opportunity for local students to obtain bachelors and masters degrees.

In the past 15 years, RGC has conferred 2,824 degrees: (1,522 Bachelor of Arts degrees, 239 Bachelor of Business Administration degrees, 262 Bachelor of Science degrees, 95 Masters of Business Administration degrees, and 706 Masters of Education degrees). 

The economic impact of RGC on the region includes the college’s $10 million annual budget –more than half of which is awarded to support the success of its students. For instance, during the 2005-06 academic year $5,004,022 in state, federal and private scholarship assistance was provided to RGC students.

During this period, 145 of the total of 776 undergraduates received financial assistance. Undergraduates were awarded more than $4.2 million and graduate students received some $700,000 in financial aid and scholarships. The average amount of assistance received by an individual undergraduate was $5,494, while the typical graduate student received $5,109.

The third major economic area in which RGC assists the region is through the educated manpower it provides to the various communities it serves. Recently, an informal survey of the number of RGC graduates since 1992 from Del Rio, Eagle Pass and Uvalde conservatively estimated that more than 40 percent (some 1,100) ex-students are still residing in the region and are contributing to every economic sector. These individuals provide an intellectual resource to the region, as well as serving as role models for others.

It is noteworthy that the majority of RGC’s students are the first in their families to obtain a four-year college education. These “first-generation” students comprised about 75 percent of RGC’s 2005-06 student body. The success of these individuals exemplifies the high value placed on educational achievement as a sure pathway toward obtaining a higher standard of living for themselves and their families.

RGC graduates reflect the demographic makeup of the Southwest Texas region. Of the 2,821 post-1992 graduates, 1,945 are Hispanic, 698 are white, 136 are of unknown ethnicity, and the remaining 42 are Puerto Rican, Asian, African American or Native American.

Of interest is the dominance of female graduates: 2,108 female to 713 male. The high percentage of female RGC students coincides with state and national trends. But RGC stands apart with its high count of Hispanic female students, usually about sixty percent of the student population. This calculation clearly demonstrates a break from traditions where the education of Hispanic females was discouraged.

As more females obtain a formal education the makeup of the workforce changes as they assume positions of authority and leadership. Also as a result of the workforce gender change, more and more well-educated females are the income producers in their families.

RGC graduates with education degrees lead all areas of specialization. Where do most of these newly-minted teachers, school counselors and administrators end up? At least sixty percent of them find employment with the region’s public school systems. Like their peers in fields of education, RGC students with degrees in psychology, Spanish and criminal justice are also readily hired, most finding jobs with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

A degree in business administration is a popular ticket to success for growing numbers of RGC students. Enterprising business graduates quickly find administrative positions in the region’s banking, retail, health, education, tourism, food service, law enforcement and agricultural industries. For instance, nearly all of the officers at one Uvalde credit union are recent RGC graduates.

After graduation, many of RGC’s startup entrepreneurs set up shop with the help of Small Business Development Centers at the three campuses. SBDC counselors assist with everything from development of business plans to marketing schemes.

Of the three largest communities in the RGC region, Eagle Pass seems to retain the highest percentage of graduates. Family bonds remain especially strong here, but a booming borderland trade and manufacturing economy also anchor graduates. NAFTA has greatly expanded the need for a well-prepared and educated workforce.

Del Rio, with the revolving population at Laughlin Air Force Base, has the most diversified demographics of RGC’s three campus cities. Even though its economy and population are a few notches below Eagle Pass, an estimated 30 percent of RGC’s Del Rio graduates remain as contributors to the city’s school system, government institutions and businesses.

Uvalde rings in with the third largest number of RGC graduates. The proximity of San Antonio and Austin draws away a majority of its college-ready students. But, Uvalde nearly ties Eagle Pass for retention of its RGC graduates. Forty percent of the nearly 600 Uvalde-based RGC graduates since 1992 are still listed in the local phone book.

Whether RGC’s graduates opt to stay in the region or leave in pursuit of their dreams, they create a win-win situation. They’re a boon to the regional workforce and the overall economy, as well as to themselves and to their families.

Juan O. Sanchez is Director of Institutional Research at the RGC Uvalde campus

More than half of RGC’s annual $10 million budget is awarded as financial aid and scholarships to support the success of its students

40 percent is a conservative estimate of the total number of RGC graduates that are still residing in the region and contributing to every economic sector