By Nathan Gonzales, BOAT Director-at-large, City of Crowley
Have you been considering a return to school to finish that degree you’ve put off until the time is right? Today’s degree programs have seen a massive revamp in recent years with a focus on working professionals. Many courses have been shortened to an 8-week format, allowing students the ability to take two classes at a time while still qualifying as a full-time student. Additionally, distance education has allowed working professionals the ability to fit coursework within their busy schedules, maintaining a manageable work-life balance. In this article, I hope to provide some encouragement to code officials who have been wrestling with this decision and highlight a few programs that offer college credit for many of the CEUs, licenses, and industry certifications, code officials have often already obtained.
Is a College Degree Even Necessary?
The short answer is, no. A college degree is not a substitute for experience in this specific field of public safety. In fact, a large percentage of building officials serving today in Texas only have a high school diploma but serve their jurisdictions with distinction. The recent 2025 BOAT Survey Summary Report noted that almost 40% of attendees at the last BOAT conference only held a high school diploma or GED. However, for code officials hoping to advance their careers in public service, formal post-secondary education is often par for the course. City management and city council members often have an expectation for department heads to hold degrees in their field. As unwarranted as that may sound, convincing your leadership that a degree has little value when compared to industry licenses and certifications is often an uphill battle. Obtaining a promotion often comes down to post-secondary credentials and there are well-experienced code officials that have been passed over for other less experienced candidates who hold a degree. It’s a tale as old as time and common happenstance in the workplace. I’ve known staunch individuals who insist, or rather resist, the notion that a degree is necessary for leadership in this field. I too agree that is not necessary, however, what a degree does demonstrate is that an individual has gone above and beyond the basic requirements in advancing their formal education. Similarly, going above and beyond minimum code requirements is a welcomed sight in the field of code compliance. Consider this, if you were the city manager and you were looking for someone to lead your development services department, would you want someone who has simply met the basic requirements for the job, or would you likely consider a candidate who has demonstrated their willingness to go above a beyond the rest of candidates in their stack of resumes?
What Degree Program Should I Consider?
This question often serves as the first roadblock for individuals considering a return to school. I want to encourage you that this is common so don’t get lost in the weeds. I once sat in a room of big decision makers who were speaking about their preferred skills for leadership posts within a law enforcement organization. Many of their candidates had a degree in criminal justice. In fact, many of the people in that room held a degree in criminal justice. What stuck with me the most was when they mentioned their preference for candidates who had education in other fields like accounting, business, and leadership. Like most fields, a career in law enforcement will provide ample field-specific training and continuing education, however, supervisors and managers are often tasked with reviewing payroll, equipment purchasing, staffing, hiring, firing, and budget preparation. In the same sense, code officials obtain ample training in construction-related topics throughout their career. Degree programs in human resources and business administration provide exposure to regulatory requirements for employment and financial practices, areas beneficial when serving in roles such as a building official or development director. Building officials and development directors are often asked by their finance department to prepare a revenue forecast for the upcoming coming fiscal year. If you are like me, you’d probably ask yourself, “What chapter of the IBC goes over that?” Today’s CBO continuing education classes are often focused more on exam preparation rather than how to actually go about the daily duties of leading a building department. This is where obtaining education in other fields pays off.
However, there are still benefits for code officials considering construction science and management programs. Construction science and management programs often include coursework on material testing, project scheduling, and project estimating. Speaking from experience, the material testing and geology courses I took years ago continue to serve me well when reviewing geotechnical reports. The project estimating courses I took helped me focus on the specific details of building plans, improving my plan review and permit fee estimation abilities. Lastly, the course on project scheduling helped me see things through the perspective of a contractor up against a contractual time clock, widening my empathy to improve aspects of customer service.
What Schools Should I Consider?
If you are just starting off, I would consider looking at your local community college. When I decided to return to school, my only goal was to finish my associate’s degree. I decided to enroll in the Construction Management Technology Program at Tarrant County College. I was 30 years old at the time. Many of my classmates were seasoned construction professionals who too had reached a ceiling within their organization. I learned that many construction firms had to provide a list of personnel within their organization, detailing each person’s credentials when bidding for projects. Construction companies hoping to obtain that next multi-million-dollar project have learned that it often comes down to the resumes and post-secondary credentials of their project managers and site superintendents. Does that sound familiar?
Associate Degree Programs
In DFW, Dallas College and Collin College have ACCE-accredited associate degree construction programs that are extremely affordable and designed for the working professional. In the Houston area, Lone Star College offers an associate program in Construction Supervision as well as several other trade-specific areas. In Central Texas, Austin Community College offers a wide range of programs, including an associate’s degree in Building Construction Technology. And for code officials in South Texas, South Texas College offers multiple programs related to the AEC industry.
If you have been out of school for some time, and never taken the SAT or ACT, all schools will likely require you to take the TSI exam, which serves as a placement exam. Many of the applied science courses are exempt from the TSI, however, the TSI exam will be required before you can enroll in any general education courses required to complete the associate’s degree. Don’t fret. The TSI exam is not as rigorous as the SAT/ACT, and if you have ever taken an ICC exam, then you should not have any reason to worry.
Bachelor’s Degree Programs
Did you know that many of the schools noted above now offer bachelor-level degree programs? These programs provide an expedited pathway toward obtaining a bachelor’s degree. As construction-related programs are considered an applied science, these newer applied science bachelor’s degree programs typically contain an occupational specialization track where students can utilize many, if not all, of their applied science coursework to complete this portion of the degree plan, significantly reducing the overall time and cost to obtain a bachelor’s degree. Additionally, many schools offer CPL (Credit for Prior Learning), converting industry and employer-sponsored CEUs and training for college credit. Classes taken through the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), including their Basic Code Enforcement course, can be utilized for college credit at many institutions in Texas.
Following my time at Tarrant County College, I completed my bachelor’s degree in under a year as the next institution credited all my applied science coursework and CEUs as electives, satisfying the 36-hour occupational specialization component of my degree plan. Listed below are a few applied science bachelor programs with applicable concentrations you may consider:
East Texas A & M
BAAS in Human Resource Development
BAAS in Public Administration & City Planning
BAAS in Organizational Leadership
Sam Houston State University
Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences
Stephen F. Austin State University
BAAS in General Business, Public Administration, or Organizational Leadership
Tarleton State University
Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences in Business
Bachelor of Applied Science in Construction Science & Management
Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences in Public Administration
Texas A&M University Corpus Christi
Texas State University
Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences in Organizational Leadership
Texas Tech University
Texas Women’s University
Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences in Professional Studies
University of North Texas
University of North Texas at Dallas
Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences- Concentrations in Business, State and Local Government
University of Texas at Tyler
BAAS- Specializations in Business Occupations, Human Behavior, and General Studies
How Long Will This Take?
It depends. How motivated are you? You going anywhere? Unlike other industries, code officials find longevity in public service. Listen, anything worth doing takes time. Do you remember taking that city job not long ago. You blinked and the next thing you know you received a letter from TMRS notifying you that you’ve met their 5-year vesting period! I say that to remind you of how fast time moves in retrospect. Lord willing, the time is going to go by anyway while you work towards the goals you’ve set. Would you be surprised if I told you that most classes in a BAAS program only last 7 to 8 weeks? A few of them are competency-based as well, meaning you can blow through all the reading material and assignments at your own pace, and then sign up for an additional course during the same term if you finish them earlier without incurring any additional tuition costs. All schools offer credit by examination, meaning if you are good at math or writing or are self-taught history or science buff, you can take a comprehensive exam in lieu of sitting through the duration of the course. If you pass it, you will receive full credit for the course. Code officials are known for their advanced self-study abilities. How much time have you spent after-hours studying code books in preparation for an upcoming ICC exam. Credit by exam opportunities may be right up your alley. Lastly, does your organization may offer a tuition reimbursement program? If so, what reasons do you have to not take advantage of it?
Final Thoughts
Code officials are some of the most highly educated professionals in the workplace. The sheer volume code books, material data sheets, manufacturer installation manuals, and product listings that code officials are exposed to on daily basis pale in comparison to our counterparts in local government and are far more complex than the undergraduate course material you will cover. This should dispel any concerns you have in making that decision to return to school. Perhaps you’ve never considered this but obtaining that degree is much easier and closer today than you realize. Edward James Olmos (as Jaime Escalante) in the movie Stand and Deliver said it best, “All it takes is ganas!” [For those curious, ganas is Spanish for the word desire]. Obtaining a degree is much more than just checking a box. Education opens doors and provides a silent level of confidence that fuels the journey to set and attain then next goal. Today, what I once considered a difficult decision turned out to be one of the easiest and best decisions I’ve made. My only regret was that I wished I had made it sooner. Perhaps you’ll do better in that regard.