HOUSTON (Aug. 8, 2011) – Lone Star College System was ranked eighth in community colleges nationwide, and one of the top in Texas, in the 2011 list of Top 100 Associate Degree Producers published recently by Community College Week magazine.
"If the sheer quantity of students attaining degrees and other formal awards is any measure of success … then this year’s data on associate degree and other pre-baccalaureate certificates is good news," wrote Victor M.H. Borden, in a report about the analysis and resulting lists.
"Many traditional community colleges have expanded their offerings to include some bachelor’s degrees," Borden said. He is an associate vice chancellor and professor at Indiana University.
The Top 100 Associate Degree Producers list is compiled by the magazine each year from data collected through the National Center for Education Statistics and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Set survey.
“It is an honor to be nationally recognized for the work we are doing here in our local community”, said Dr. Richard Carpernter, chancellor of the Lone Star College System. “We are also proud of our partnerships with a number of our four-year institutions to help students move beyond their associate degrees and continue to pursue their education further.”
According to the Community College Week analysis, LSCS awarded 3,036 associate degrees to students for all disciplines for the 2009-2010 school year, which placed it in the 19th spot nationwide among all colleges and eighth among community colleges.
In subsequent "sub-lists" as part of the analysis, LSCS was also ranked as second nationwide in the Top 50 Associate Degrees in the category of Nursing with 406 associate degrees awarded in the 2009-2010 school year, and fourth in the category of Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences with 613 associate degrees awarded last year as well.
With more than 69,000 students in credit classes for spring 2011, and a total enrollment of more than 85,000, Lone Star College System is the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area, and the fastest-growing community college system in Texas. Dr. Richard Carpenter is the chancellor of LSCS, which 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.
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