The National Center for Education Statistics reported that less than 15% of neurodiverse students attend a college or university in Texas. The Lone Star College lifePATH® program aims to prepare students with cognitive disabilities for their next steps by providing them with practical life skills and a college education.
“The lifePATH® program is a robust, intentional educational pathway approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to provide this unique population of students with more alternatives and an opportunity to earn an Occupational Life Skills associate degree, which is only available at Lone Star College,” said Lee Ann Nutt, Ed.D., LSC-Tomball President. Nutt was instrumental in the program’s creation.
The LSC Board of Trustees recently voted to reduce tuition for lifePATH® Foundations, a new two-year noncredit program offering specific foundational skills. The cost is now $8 per contact hour (previously $16 per contact hour). The lifePATH® Foundations program is offered at LSC-Tomball.
“The lifePATH® program at Lone Star College gives neurodiverse students the soft and hard skills necessary to enter the world and pursue gainful employment,” said Anne Ginnett, LSC-Tomball lifePATH® Director. “lifePATH® is designed to enhance their academic, career, interpersonal and intrapersonal skills.”
LSC lifePATH® is a post-secondary program assisting students to develop independence, exercise self-determination, practice necessary social expectations and engage in career exploration. In addition to lifePATH® Foundations, the program offers two other tracks.
Occupational and Life Skills Associate Degree (OLSA) is a four-year (60 credit hours) associate degree program offered at LSC-Montgomery and LSC-Tomball. Students take six to 10 credit hours each semester and pay the same tuition rate as traditional LSC students.
Wraparound Supports provides case management services for lifePATH® students taking traditional credit courses outside of the OLSA program. It is free to lifePATH® students and is available at LSC-Montgomery and LSC-Tomball.
“Lone Star College lifePATH® offers students various internship programs with area businesses and organizations to help enrich their knowledge and skills needed to succeed in life and the workforce,” said Montisha Hines Goosby, LSC-Montgomery lifePATH® Director. “These internships are perfect opportunities for our students to discover what they are passionate about and what it will take for them to thrive in their chosen paths.”
Visit LoneStar.edu/lifePATH for more information on the Lone Star College lifePATH® program.
Lone Star College enrolls over 80,000 students each semester providing high-quality, low-cost academic transfer and career training education. LSC is training tomorrow’s workforce today and redefining the community college experience to support student success. Mario K. Castillo, J.D., serves as Chancellor of LSC, the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area. LSC has been named a 2022 Great Colleges to Work For® institution by the Chronicle of Higher Education and recognized by Fortune Magazine and Great Place To Work® as one of this year’s Best Workplaces in Texas™. LSC consists of eight colleges, seven centers, eight Workforce Centers of Excellence and Lone Star Corporate College. To learn more, visit LoneStar.edu.