The top producer of associate degree graduates in Texas – Lone Star College System – just got bigger, in fact much bigger.
LSCS officials have announced that fall student enrollment jumped by 15 percent to 58,150 students in credit classes – about 7,600 students above last fall.
In addition, the college system will enroll about 17,000 students in non-credit Continuing Education classes this fall. Total non-credit enrollment for 2008-2009 was 35,797.
Regarding the credit enrollment increase, LSCS Chancellor Richard Carpenter said “the total enrollment of the average Texas community college is a little over 5,000, and we grew one and half times that rate in a single semester.”
LSCS is by far the largest institution of higher education in the greater Houston area. Community College Week ranked LSCS as the number one college system in Texas for the number of associate degree graduates in the 2007-2008 school year. This ranking, with 2,398 associate degree graduates, placed LSCS 16th nationally.
“We have become one of the premier college systems in the country by providing better service and more options to our community in every way,” said Carpenter. “This phenomenal growth further validates the fact that students in this district continue to rely on Lone Star College System as an affordable and convenient education option.”
Every college in the system logged significant student enrollment increases, with LSC-North Harris leading the way with a 17.6 percent increase and 1,997 additional students registered. Other colleges were as follows: LSC-CyFair, 15.9 percent increase, 2,039 additional students; LSC-Kingwood, 13.1 percent increase, 1,055 students; LSC-Montgomery, 13.8 percent increase, 1,323 students; and LSC-Tomball, 13.7 percent increase, 1,193 students.
“Many of our programs at the campuses continue to fill quickly,” Carpenter said. “Fortunately, the voters in this district saw the need as we did and approved our 2008 bond referendum. Because of that, we are now in the midst of expanding at all of our campuses to help accommodate some of this explosive growth.”
Some of the bond construction projects currently underway include: the renovation of LSC-University Park on State Highway 249, formerly Hewlett Packard North campus; design work is underway for new general classroom space and science building at LSC-CyFair; design work is beginning on the new student and conference center building and the new arts and instructional building at LSC-Kingwood; design work is nearing completion for the new parking garage, academic, health/science and music instruction buildings at LSC-Montgomery; design is well underway for the student services building and the fine arts and applied technology building additions, along with the off-campus health professions building at LSC-North Harris; and design work is also underway on the performing arts and the vet tech buildings at LSC-Tomball, along with the off-campus health science building.
Lone Star College System consists of five colleges including LSC-CyFair, LSC-Kingwood, LSC-Montgomery, LSC-North Harris, and LSC-Tomball, six centers, LSC-University Center, LSC-University Park, Lone Star Corporate College, and LSC-Online. To learn more visit LoneStar.edu.
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