Houston City College

Houston City College (HCC), also known as the Houston City College System (HCCS), is a public community college system that operates community colleges in Houston, Missouri City, Greater Katy, and Stafford in the U.S. state of Texas. Founded in 1971 as Houston Community College, it is notable for actively recruiting internationally and for the large number of international students enrolled, over 5,700 in 2015. Its open enrollment policies, which do not require proficiency in English, are backed by a full-time 18-month English proficiency program and remedial courses. In 2025, its board voted to rename the college to Houston City College. As defined by the Texas Legislature, the official service area of HCCS includes the following school districts: Houston Independent School District Stafford Municipal School District Spring Branch Independent School District (included in service area by state law, but is not part of the tax base), Alief Independent School District Katy Independent School District North Forest Independent School District (now consolidated into Houston ISD) the portions of the Fort Bend Independent School District located within the cities of Houston, Missouri City, and Pearland. Additionally, it includes areas not in Wharton County Junior College (in other words, not in Sugar Land nor in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Sugar Land.)