Lone Star College-Montgomery was recently selected to be a part of “Foundations of Excellence (FoE),” a national program designed to evaluate and revitalize the campus’ services for first-year college students.
“Our participation will provide a fresh awareness of our students’ first-year experience, and as result, we’ll be able to be even more intentional in how we deliver programs and services that impact student success and retention of first-year students,” said Dr. Austin A. Lane, president of LSC-Montgomery. “We’re very pleased to begin this partnership with FoE and continue our primary mission to pursue academic excellence.”
The FoE program is a year-long, comprehensive guided self-study and improvement process that will explore the aspects of the new student experience and produce a plan for institutional improvement. While the process focuses mainly on the college’s policies, practices, and programs, part of the evaluation process engages both traditional and non-traditional students through survey to understand what they’re experiencing.
Tasked with leading the FoE initiative are Cami Keitel, assistant dean of student services; Juan Lebron, counselor; and Karen Buckman, professor of psychology. They’ll work closely with a campus-wide task force of faculty, staff, and students to address the nine dimensions of the FoE plan, which are Philosophy, Organization, Learning, Campus Culture, Transitions, All Students, Diversity, Roles and Purposes, and Improvement.
“The ultimate goal is to see students succeed through higher levels of learning and persistence in college,” said Lane. “We want to hear the voices of our campus community, and at the end of this process, have a plan that will lead to enhanced services and significant improvements for our students.”
LSC-Montgomery joins the more than 160 universities and colleges that have memberships to FoE, including Lone Star College-North Harris, who was one of only nine two-year colleges included in the 2009-2010 National Select Cohort.
The principles of FoE were developed by the Gardner Institute, formerly the Policy Center on the First Year of College. The program is grounded in three decades of research and reform and vetted by more than 300 four- and two-year universities.
For more information about the college’s Foundations of Excellence program, contact Cami Keitel at Cami.Keitel@LoneStar.edu; or visit www.LoneStar.edu/montgomery-foe.
LSC-Montgomery is located at 3200 College Park Drive, one-half mile west of Interstate 45, between Conroe and The Woodlands. For more information about the college, call (936) 273-7000, or visit www.LoneStar.edu/montgomery.
With more than 62,000 students in credit classes in spring 2010, and a total enrollment of nearly 85,000, Lone Star College System is the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area, and the second largest and the fastest-growing community college system in Texas. LSCS consists of five colleges including LSC-CyFair, LSC-Kingwood, LSC-Montgomery, LSC-North Harris, and LSC-Tomball, six centers, LSC-University Park, LSC-University Center at Montgomery, LSC-University Center at University Park, Lone Star Corporate College, and LSC-Online. To learn more visit LoneStar.edu.