Aligning Career Pathways to Employer Needs and Changing Policy: Houston City College’s Approach to Credentials of Value in Texas
As Texas moves forward with the implementation of House Bill 8 (HB8), community colleges are reimagining their role in preparing students for high‑demand careers while ensuring programs lead to measurable economic mobility.[i] At Houston City College (HCC), this shift has been more than a compliance exercise—it has become a strategic framework for aligning career pathways with employer needs, ensuring that every credential earned represents labor market value and supports the state’s broader goals for student success and workforce readiness.
Connecting Education and Employment
HCC worked with Workcred to examine how academic programs and industry certifications can be intentionally stacked to strengthen career and technical education (CTE) pathways. This project of aligning industry certification and certificate and/or degrees bridges the gap between classroom learning and workforce application. By mapping certification competencies to academic curricula and outcomes, HCC ensures that students not only complete their programs but also earn credentials recognized and valued by employers.
Policy Meets Practice
HB8’s funding model incentivizes community colleges to deliver credentials of value and align with regional workforce needs. HCC has proactively used this model to examine program performance metrics, including licensure pass rates, employment outcomes, and wage data. The institution’s 14 Centers of Excellence serve as hubs for collaboration between faculty, employers, and workforce boards to ensure that pathways stay responsive to emerging labor market trends.
For example, within HCC’s Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and Business Technology programs, faculty collaborated with industry partners to identify key skill areas aligned with Texas’ high‑wage, high‑demand occupations. These efforts have led to revised curricula, embedded credentials, and strengthened connections to local employers—directly reflecting HB8’s emphasis on outcomes that drive employment and economic impact.
This alignment has also led to cross‑departmental collaboration between academic and workforce divisions to streamline processes, enhance data reporting, and ensure programs meet both accreditation and state accountability expectations. In doing so, HCC is not only aligning to HB8, but also modeling a scalable approach for other community colleges seeking to operationalize Texas’ new outcomes‑based funding model.
Strategic Launch: A Stackable Pathway in Nursing
A concrete illustration of HCC’s alignment strategy is the newly launched LVN (licensed vocational nurse) to ADN (associate degree in nursing) transition program at HCC’s Coleman College for Health Sciences.[ii] During the inaugural fall 2025 cohort, LVNs who wish to earn an ADN began in this new pathway. This three‑semester, full‑time program allows LVNs to elevate their credentials, leadership potential, and earning power by getting an ADN and ultimately taking the Registered Nurse (RN) licensure exam. The median RN salary in Texas is approximately $77,450 (about $17,300 more than the median for LVNs) according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.[iii]
And in the context of HB8, this pathway reflects several core objectives:
- It embeds a stackable credential model (LVN → ADN → RN) that allows early exit/entry points while preserving advancement potential.
- It directly responds to a high‑demand labor market sector—nursing/healthcare—addressing the significant shortage projected nationwide and in Texas.
- It provides students, many of whom may be working or returning learners, with a clear, upward career trajectory tied to measurable outcomes (e.g., licensure, higher salary, increased responsibilities).
Strengthening Equity Through Stackable Credentials
Central to this work is HCC’s commitment to equity and access. Many learners entering workforce programs are first‑generation or from low‑income backgrounds. By integrating industry certifications into academic programs, HCC creates multiple entry and exit points for students—allowing them to earn marketable skills early, secure employment, and return to complete additional credentials as their careers progress. The LVN to ADN pathway exemplifies this by enabling LVNs currently in the workforce to advance without needing to start from scratch. This approach also advances the HB8 vision by helping students achieve economic mobility through continuous learning.
Looking Ahead
HCC’s experience demonstrates how aligning to employer needs and policies can transform institutional culture—from compliance‑driven to outcomes‑driven innovation. The college continues to expand its collaboration with employers, advisory boards, and policymakers to ensure that every pathway remains current, data‑informed, and aligned with Texas’ evolving needs and economy.
In short, HCC’s pathway alignment work illustrates how community colleges can translate policy into practice—building an ecosystem where students, employers, and communities all benefit from a shared commitment to credentials of value.
[i] “Overview of House Bill 8,” Texas Education Agency, October 23, 2025, https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/news-and-multimedia/correspondence/taa-letters/overview-of-house-bill-8-0.
[ii] “Licensed Vocational Nursing to Associate Degree Nursing (LVN to ADN),” Houston City College, accessed November 12, 2025, https://www.hccs.edu/programs/areas-of-study/health-sciences/licensed-vocational-nursing-to-associate-degree-nursing-lvn-to-adn/.
[iii] “HCC launches new nursing program to offer LVNs pathway to earn degrees,” Articles, Houston City College, May 27, 2025, https://www.hccs.edu/about-hcc/news/articles/hcc-launches-new-nursing-program-to-offer-lvns-pathway-to-earn-degrees.html.
