| Type | Healthcare career college: 10 Texas campuses plus CHCP Online |
|---|---|
| Campuses | Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Garland, Houston (3), McAllen, San Antonio (2) |
| Credentials | Certificates, Associate of Applied Science degrees, one online bachelor’s degree |
| Program length | Certificates about 36–64 weeks; associate degrees about 32–96 weeks |
| Accreditation | ABHES (institutional); CAAHEP for Diagnostic Medical Sonography at Austin and Fort Worth |
| Federal aid | Yes (Title IV); VA and military Tuition Assistance accepted |
| Owner | HCA Healthcare (since September 2026). Founded 1988 in Houston |
| Facts checked | October 2026 |
About CHCP
The College of Health Care Professions (CHCP) was started in 1988 by physicians of the MacGregor Medical Association in Houston to train their own staff. It now trains medical assistants, dental assistants, pharmacy technicians, coders, sonographers, surgical technologists, vocational nurses and limited-scope X-ray technicians at ten campuses across Texas, and online. It enrolls more than 8,000 students a year.
In September 2026, HCA Healthcare, the Nashville-based hospital operator, completed its purchase of CHCP. HCA also holds a majority stake in Galen College of Nursing and had already run a medical assistant training partnership with CHCP since 2023. Eric Bing remains CHCP’s chancellor and CEO.
Programs and where they are taught
Most programs use a blended format, with lectures online and labs on campus, followed by an externship or clinical rotation. Programs differ by campus.
| Program | Credential | Length | Where | Prepares for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical Assistant | Certificate | 36 weeks | All 10 campuses and online | NRCMA exam (fee included in tuition) |
| Medical Assistant (new 2026) | AAS | 48 weeks | Houston Southwest, McAllen | – |
| Medical Billing & Coding | Certificate | About 48 weeks online | All campuses and online | NRCCS exam |
| Pharmacy Technician | Certificate | About 36 weeks | Most campuses and online | PTCE or ExCPT (needed for Texas registration) |
| Dental Assistant | Certificate | About 36 weeks | Most campuses and online | Texas Registered Dental Assistant (RDA) |
| Limited Medical Radiologic Technologist with MA skills | Certificate | About 58 weeks | 7 campuses | Texas Medical Board LMRT exam |
| Radiologic Technology (completion) | AAS | About 64 weeks | Online lectures + clinicals; requires a Texas LMRT license | ARRT exam |
| Surgical Technology | AAS | 80 weeks | Austin, Dallas, Houston Northwest, McAllen, San Antonio North | NBSTSA CST exam (programmatic accreditation listed for Austin, Houston NW and San Antonio North) |
| Diagnostic Medical Sonography | AAS | 96 weeks | Austin, Fort Worth, Houston Northwest, McAllen, San Antonio North | ARDMS exams |
| Cardiac / Cardiovascular Sonography | AAS | 96 weeks | Houston Northwest (cardiac), Fort Worth (cardiovascular) | ARDMS / CCI exams |
| Vocational Nursing | Certificate | 48 weeks, day classes | Houston Northwest, San Antonio North | NCLEX-PN |
| Nursing (LVN to ADN) | AAS | About 80 weeks | Houston Northwest, San Antonio North | NCLEX-RN |
| Ophthalmic Assistant | Certificate | About 36 weeks | Fort Worth, Houston Medical Center | COA (JCAHPO) |
| Physical Therapy Technician | Certificate | 36 weeks | McAllen | – |
CHCP Online also offers associate degrees in Health Care Management, Coding & Revenue Cycle Management and Health & Medical Administrative Services, a certificate in Addiction Studies & Mental Health Technician, and a bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration. Online enrollment is open in Texas and most other states, but not California or Massachusetts.
What the main programs cover
Hours below are from CHCP’s on-campus program pages. Each program splits its clock hours between lecture, lab and an externship or clinical rotation.
Medical Assistant
The on-campus Medical Assistant certificate is 900 clock hours over about 36 weeks, in eight modules: 527 hours of lecture, 193 of lab and a 180-hour supervised externship at a local healthcare facility. Four Clinical Procedures modules cover the hands-on skills. Others cover anatomy and terminology, HIPAA, OSHA and infection control, electronic health records, insurance and medical records, office management, and law and ethics. Some material is delivered online, and classes run in daytime or evening sessions. Applicants need a high school diploma or GED, must be 18 and must score 10 on the Scholastic Level Exam.
Diagnostic Medical Sonography
This 96-week associate degree is 2,075 clock hours, nearly half of them (960) in three clinical practicums at hospitals, clinics and imaging centers. Alongside general education such as college algebra, physics and anatomy, students take ultrasound physics and instrumentation and courses in abdominal, gynecologic, obstetric, small-parts and vascular scanning, ending with registry review. Classes are daytime only. Graduates are expected to sit ARDMS specialty exams within 90 days of finishing. Admission requires a Scholastic Level Exam score of 21, two interviews and a background check; vaccinations, health insurance and a drug screen are needed before clinicals.
Surgical Technology
Surgical Technology is an 80-week, full-time associate degree of 2,128 clock hours: 1,056 lecture, 176 lab and 896 clinical. Core courses cover aseptic technique, surgical procedures, pharmacology and microbiology, with anatomy, medical terminology and professional readiness running alongside. Some general education courses are taken online. The four clinical courses take place in operating rooms, where students must complete at least 120 surgical cases. The program prepares students for the NBSTSA Certified Surgical Technologist exam. Admission uses a ranking process and requires a Scholastic Level Exam score of 19.
Vocational Nursing
The Vocational Nursing certificate runs three 16-week semesters (1,422 clock hours). Classes are daytime, Monday to Friday, but the 672 clinical hours in hospitals and long-term care may fall on mornings, evenings or weekends. Courses cover basic and advanced nursing skills, medical-surgical nursing, care of women, newborns and children, pharmacology, mental health and leadership, and end with NCLEX-PN preparation. Applicants need a TEAS score of at least 61.7%, an essay and a committee interview, plus immunizations, a physical, AHA CPR certification, a negative drug screen, and a clear background check or a Texas Board of Nursing blue card.
Limited Medical Radiologic Technologist
This certificate trains limited-scope X-ray technicians who also have medical assisting skills. It is 1,505 clock hours over about 58 weeks: 648 lecture, 357 lab and a 500-hour externship. Students study radiologic science and math, radiation biology and protection, image production and digital imaging, with positioning labs for the chest, abdomen, extremities, pelvis, spine and skull. A medical assisting module includes CPR. Day and evening classes are offered. Applicants need a Scholastic Level Exam score of 19 and must be able to lift 40 pounds; some criminal convictions can prevent licensing.
Pharmacy Technician
The on-campus Pharmacy Technician certificate is 900 clock hours over about 36 weeks: 503 lecture, 217 lab and a 180-hour externship in a local pharmacy. It covers community and hospital pharmacy practice, pharmacy calculations, ethics and patient safety, and sterile compounding, including IV admixtures. Day and evening classes are available at some campuses. Before the externship, students must pass a background check, be fingerprinted and register with the Texas State Board of Pharmacy as technician trainees. Applicants must be 18 and score 14 on the Scholastic Level Exam.
Cost and paying for it
CHCP publishes tuition separately for each campus. These are the Dallas campus prices for 2026 (catalog addendum effective 1 January 2026); each total includes a registration fee and a $500 technology fee, and textbooks are included.
| Program (Dallas) | Total program cost |
|---|---|
| Medical Assistant certificate | $18,500 |
| Medical Coding & Billing certificate | $18,500 |
| Dental Assistant certificate | $18,500 |
| Pharmacy Technician certificate (blended) | $17,500 |
| Limited Medical Radiologic Technologist with MA skills | $25,500 |
| Surgical Technology AAS | $38,500 |
| Health & Medical Administrative Services AAS (completion) | $11,850 |
Payments are usually spread over a monthly plan set out in the enrollment agreement, and students must be current on payments before starting their externship. Prices at other campuses may differ. Federal data put the average net price, after grants, at about $27,800 (2024 IPEDS data). CHCP is eligible for federal student aid (Pell Grants and Direct Loans). Its own aid includes a need-based Institutional Grant of up to $2,000 and a $1,000 grant for Texas high school seniors, and CHCP is approved for WIOA workforce funding and Texas vocational rehabilitation (DARS) sponsorship. For military students, CHCP is approved by the Texas Veterans Commission for the GI Bill (Chapters 30 and 33), accepts military Tuition Assistance, and gives active-duty members, veterans and their dependents a 20% tuition discount.
Admissions and schedule
Applicants need a high school diploma or GED, an interview, a background check and a passing score on the Wonderlic Scholastic Level Exam (SLE). The required score rises with the program: 10 for Dental Assistant, 14 for Pharmacy Technician, 17 for Billing & Coding, 19 for Surgical Technology and 21 for Sonography. Vocational Nursing and LVN-to-ADN applicants must also pass the TEAS. Medical Assistant, LMRT and Dental Assistant are offered in day or evening classes at many campuses; Vocational Nursing is daytime only. Programs start throughout the year.
Accreditation and results
CHCP is accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES) and approved by the Texas Workforce Commission. The Diagnostic Medical Sonography programs at Austin and Fort Worth also hold programmatic accreditation from CAAHEP, and the LMRT program is approved by the Texas Medical Board. Federal IPEDS data for 2024 show that about 47% of students graduated within 150% of normal program time (29% within normal time). In 2024, all four first-time NCLEX-RN candidates from the Houston LVN-to-ADN program passed. CHCP publishes retention and placement rates for each campus on its student achievement page.
Externships and career help
Most CHCP programs end with an externship or clinical rotation at a healthcare employer, and each campus has career services staff who help graduates with job placement, resumes and interviews. CHCP has run a medical assistant training partnership with HCA Healthcare, its new owner, since 2023.
Before you enroll
- Programmatic accreditation matters for some exams. For sonography, ARDMS eligibility is simplest from a CAAHEP-accredited program, and only the Austin and Fort Worth programs hold it. For surgical technology, the NBSTSA CST exam requires an accredited program; CHCP lists programmatic accreditation at Austin, Houston Northwest and San Antonio North, so Dallas and McAllen applicants should ask about CST eligibility.
- The Radiologic Technology AAS is a completion program for people who already hold a Texas LMRT license. It is not an entry route into X-ray.
- Program availability varies by campus, and CHCP’s own pages sometimes disagree. Confirm with admissions that your program runs at the campus you want.
- With HCA’s purchase, expect closer ties to HCA hospitals for externships and hiring. Program details and policies may change as the transition proceeds.
What students say
CHCP is rated 4.72 out of 5 from 69 reviews on its Niche school page, and on GradReports 67% of 95 reviewers say they would recommend it (both checked October 2026). The gap matters: GradReports includes more critical reviews, while many of the Niche reviews were posted within a few days of each other in June 2025, which suggests they were requested by the college.
- Praised: caring instructors, often named individually (more than half of reviews), schedules that work for working parents, and helpful advisors and board-exam preparation.
- Criticized: financial aid disbursement delays and billing disputes, inconsistent or unprofessional instructors, and too little support for struggling students or too few externship places.
Sources
CHCP campuses · Accreditation and approvals · Admissions · CHCP news (HCA acquisition, MA degree) · Texas BON NCLEX report · IPEDS data via DataUSA · Niche · GradReports
Programs & Courses
Certificates
- Medical Assistant
- Medical Billing & Coding
- Pharmacy Technician
- Dental Assistant
- Limited Medical Radiologic Technologist with MA Skills
- Echocardiography
- Ophthalmic Assistant
- Physical Therapy Technician
- Vocational Nursing
- Addiction Studies & Mental Health Technician (online)
Associate Degrees (AAS)
- Diagnostic Medical Sonography
- Cardiac Sonography
- Cardiovascular Sonography
- Surgical Technology
- Nursing (LVN to ADN)
- Medical Assistant
- Radiologic Technology (completion, online)
- Health & Medical Administrative Services
- Coding & Revenue Cycle Management (online)
- Health Care Management (online)
Bachelor's Degree
- Healthcare Administration (online)
Campus Locations
Austin, TX 6330 E Hwy 290, Suite 180, Austin, TX 78723
Dallas, TX 8585 N Stemmons Fwy, Suite N-300, Dallas, TX 75247
Fort Worth, TX 4248 North Fwy, Fort Worth, TX 76137
Garland, TX 630 W I-30, Garland, TX 75043
Houston (Medical Center), TX 2616 South Loop W, Suite 201, Houston, TX 77054
Houston (Northwest), TX 12230 Northwest Fwy, Houston, TX 77092
Houston (Southwest), TX 7322 Southwest Fwy, Suite 110, Houston, TX 77074
McAllen, TX 1917 Nolana Ave, Suite 100, McAllen, TX 78504
San Antonio (North), TX 4400 NW Loop 410, Suite 400, San Antonio, TX 78229
San Antonio (South), TX 1964 SW Military Dr, San Antonio, TX 78221