The
summit, held Sept. 23 and 24, was sponsored by Texas Completes, Educate Texas
and the Texas Association of Community Colleges.
“We’re
proud Texas is leading the way with this very critical issue,” said Jonathan Durfield, LSC associate
vice chancellor, Government Affairs & Student
Completion. “The challenges are great, but the work that was done at this
summit will pay dividends to future generations.”
The
Texas Completion Summit featured national keynote speaker Isa Adney, a former
community college student who wrote “Community College Success” and was
attended by nearly 300 people representing 36 of the 50 community colleges in
the state, six universities and six major foundations. Sponsors included
Pearson, along with Precision Technology Group, Querium and Starfish Solutions.
The summit also included several panel discussions and
speakers including Texas State Sen. Kel
Seliger, who serves as chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee; Tina
Gridiron, Lumina Foundation; Adrianna Cuéllar Rojas, The Meadows Foundation;
Kristin Boyer, TG; and George Grainger, Houston Endowment. The panelists covered a wide range of issues such as
transforming state policy, making data matter and strengthening transfer
pathways for students.
“We need
to do a better job of reaching out to those students who don’t always raise
their hand,” said Jose Cruz, South Texas College VP/chief strategy
officer who spoke at the summit. “They can help us better understand the
obstacles they face when working toward a degree.”
“Two
years of focused effort to streamline and accelerate a student’s path to
completion were shared at the summit,” said Dr. Richard Carpenter, LSCS
chancellor. “Our goal is to ensure all students have the tools they need for a
successful completion of their studies.”
LSCS has
joined colleges across Texas encouraging students to “Commit to Complete” their
degrees, a pledge intended to encourage them to successfully complete their
educational goals. Participating colleges kicked off the 2013 fall semester
with students signing banners and contracts, pledging their commitment to
complete their studies. Faculty members are also encouraged to discuss and
highlight to students the importance of completing a degree or certificate and
following through with their academic commitments.
Texas
Completes is a cadre of eight
institutions, which together educate 43 percent of the state's community
college students; representing more than 316,000 students. The cadre includes
five founding members that have been working together for the past two years;
managing partner Lone Star College System (LSCS), Alamo Colleges (AC), Dallas
County Community College District (DCCCD), El Paso Community College (EPCC),
and South Texas College (STC). This summer, three new institutions joined
the Texas Completes consortium including Austin Community College
District (ACCD), Kilgore College (KC) and Odessa College (OC).
Lone
Star College System has been opening doors to a better community for 40 years.
Founded in 1973, LSCS remains steadfast in its commitment to student success
and credential completion. Today, with 78,000 students in credit classes, and a
total enrollment of more than 90,000, Lone Star College System is the largest
institution of higher education in the Houston area and the fastest-growing
community college system in the nation. Dr. Richard Carpenter is the
chancellor of LSCS, which consists of six colleges including LSC-CyFair,
LSC-Kingwood, LSC-Montgomery, LSC-North Harris, LSC-Tomball and LSC-University
Park, five centers, 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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