South Texas College

South Texas College, doing business as South TX College Starr County Campus #081, is a non-profit, Hispanic-serving educational institution and political subdivision of Texas that operates as a federal grant recipient, delivering workforce development, STEM education, broadband infrastructure, and occupational safety training to federal agencies as a prime recipient (67% of awards) and as a sub-recipient under pass-through federal grants (33% of awards).

The College's recent award activity spans seventeen federal agencies, with the strongest concentration in education and labor workforce programs. The Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education leads by award count (15 awards), followed by the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (12 awards) and the Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (6 awards). The National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education (4 awards) and the Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (3 awards) round out the top five, accounting for 67% of recent awards. The College's concrete capability portfolio centers on applied workforce and STEM education, structured around expanding undergraduate research experiences in biotechnology, establishing and operating a cybersecurity clinic, delivering fast-track hybrid healthcare training, and operating apprenticeship and adult education programs targeting underserved rural and minority populations in South Texas.

Representative prime grant work includes a $499,392 NSF award under the STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076), effective October 2026 through September 2029, to expand course-based undergraduate research experiences in biotechnology through the SEA-PHAGES curriculum to the College's rural branch campus and embed a multi-week CRISPR module. A $467,909 NSF award under the same program (August 2025 through July 2028) supports the establishment and operation of a cybersecurity clinic in McAllen, Texas, providing free services to underserved local organizations while delivering applied learning to students. A $2,850,148 grant from the Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration under the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program (CFDA 11.028), awarded March 2023, supported fiber optic infrastructure upgrades, conversion of 15–38 classrooms per campus from analog to digital learning, remote access devices for 400 students, and virtual desktop interfaces. A $399,840 award from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under the Citizenship Education and Training program (CFDA 97.010) funds citizenship instruction, English language classes, naturalization application assistance, and integration services from October 2024 through September 2027. A $1,875,000 Economic Development Administration grant (CFDA 11.300) supported construction of a 20,000 square-foot continuing education facility for fast-track hybrid healthcare training in McAllen. The College also received a $6,800,000 one-year award from the Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education under the Education Stabilization Fund program (July 2022–July 2023) for student support and academic retention.

In its sub-recipient capacity, the College receives pass-through awards from the Texas Workforce Commission (for apprenticeship expansion, building construction trades, and adult education and literacy services) and from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (for STEM promotion, agricultural roadmap, and HSI implementation initiatives). Four awards reach ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months, representing recompete exposure for the College and potential opportunity for competitors or teaming partners. The College's activity trajectory shows volatility over the past five years (10 awards in 2022, declining to 4 in 2023, rising to 12 in 2024, then declining to 3 in 2025 and 2 in 2026 to date), reflecting the episodic nature of federal grant funding cycles in workforce development and higher education.