Administrator’s error resulted in TCC faculty owing college money, email shows
Tarrant County College leadership provided incorrect information to faculty members, resulting in dozens of them having to repay portions of their salaries, according two employees and emails obtained by the Star-Telegram.
In October 2024, Vice Chancellor and Provost Shelley Pearson told TCC Connect faculty members in an email they only needed to teach between three and 4.5 load hours during the college’s first summer session this year, which ran from June to July. That email was shared with the Star-Telegram by a TCC faculty member who asked to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions from the college.
Most lecture-only courses at TCC count as three load hours. Courses that include a lab component count for as many as five load hours. Based on Pearson’s email, faculty members were expected to teach at least one course in the summer.
However, faculty members were later informed they should have taught a minimum of six load hours, or at least two courses, during that summer session.
In early November, 65 faculty members who teach online courses through TCC Connect were ordered to repay a portion of their salaries after college officials determined they had not met their contractual obligations as a result of the miscommunication.
TCC Connect is a virtual campus, offering distance-based learning. According to fall 2025 data, there are nearly 19,000 students enrolled in TCC Connect courses, more than at any other single TCC branch campus.
The Star-Telegram asked Reginald Gates, the vice chancellor for communications and external affairs, about the email from Pearson. “I’ve been told that such a document was circulated,” he said.
On Nov. 20, Pearson’s name and headshot were removed from TCC’s website. The same day, TCC’s student newspaper, the Collegian, reported that Pearson was no longer employed by the college.
How many hours were TCC faculty required to teach?
The confusion over how many hours should have been taught during the summer session stems from a change to TCC Connect contract terms, according to two TCC Connect faculty members who spoke to the Star-Telegram on condition of anonymity, fearing the college might take action against them.
Both said that before the 2024-25 academic year, TCC Connect faculty were on 12-month contracts. Last year, contract lengths were changed to 10.5 months. A contract provided to the Star-Telegram ran from Aug. 12, 2024, through July 7, 2025.
It is unclear what prompted the change to the contract terms. Gates did not respond to a request for clarification.
TCC’s Board Policy Manual stipulates that full-time faculty on 12-month contracts must teach a minimum of 12 load hours across the college’s two summer sessions. The faculty member who shared the email said typically that meant teaching two courses during the first summer session and two courses during the second summer session.
However, the new 10.5-month contracts ended before the second summer session began, meaning faculty members were under no contractual obligation to teach during that time, according to the source. There is nothing in the policy manual outlining the expectations for faculty on 10.5-month contracts.
When faculty asked for clarification last year, Pearson sent the email saying the expectation was that all would teach at least one course in the first summer session. Faculty members who taught more than that were paid an overload stipend.
Now, according to the employees, all TCC Connect faculty members owe the college money, either because they didn’t teach what was later deemed the required course load, or they were paid an overload stipend that the college now says they didn’t earn.
What have TCC administrators said?
When news first broke that faculty members were being asked to reimburse the college, TCC Chancellor Elva LeBlanc issued a statement saying “contracts were adjusted to address concerns raised by faculty members about clear documentation and correct dates.”
LeBlanc went on to say “salary repayment is limited to those faculty members who were paid for hours not performed under their contract.”
After being asked a follow-up question about Pearson’s email telling faculty members they needed to teach one course in the first summer session, LeBlanc responded with another statement saying “the college acknowledges that faculty members were provided with incorrect information counter to TCC policy and state law.”
What does Texas law say about overpaying faculty members?
In her statements to the Star-Telegram, LeBlanc said multiple times that payments to faculty members for contract hours not worked violated state law.
The statute says “a political subdivision, including a college district, may not pay an employee or former employee more than an amount owed under a contract with the employee unless the political subdivision holds at least one public hearing under this section.”
The statute goes on to say that during the public hearing, justification must be given for the overpayment, along with the exact amount of the overpayment and the source of the funds, among other things.
The Star-Telegram reached out via email to all seven TCC board members to clarify whether it would be possible to hold a hearing and allow the affected faculty members to keep the money they were paid. In response, Board President Jeannie Deakyne referred the questions to Gates, who has not responded.
A TCC faculty perspective
One of the faculty members who spoke with the Star-Telegram was angry at how TCC has handled the issue. They said the faculty was unknowingly given bad information, then punished for acting on that information.
The source said they were “disappointed” in TCC’s leadership.
As of now, TCC has not told the affected faculty members how much they’ll owe, according to the source. LeBlanc previously told the Star-Telegram the college would work out “fair and flexible repayment options,” though the repayment terms have not yet been established.
This story was originally published November 20, 2025 at 1:50 PM.