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Lone Star College’s rst baccalaureate students will begin classes this fall after the Texas Legislature authorized community colleges across the state in 2017 to oer up to three bachelor’s degrees.

BEGINNING BACHELOR’S DEGREES

At LSCS: • Bachelor’s degrees can be completed in two years after earning a related associate degree. • Courses span eight weeks. • Hybrid courses will accommodate working students. SELECT DEGREES Community colleges can oer bachelor’s degrees in applied science, applied technology and nursing. LSCS programs will be oered at four campuses. THE ADVENT OF BACHELOR’S DEGREES 2003 The state authorizes Brazosport, Midland and South Texas community colleges to oer up to ve bachelor’s degrees each. 2005 After programs are approved and accredited, the three colleges begin enrolling. 2013 The Texas Legislature approves a bill mandating a study on whether bachelor’s programs should be expanded to all community colleges in Texas. 2017 Legislature approves Senate Bill 2118 authorizing up to three select bachelor’s degrees at all community colleges. 2019 Lone Star College System receives regional accreditation to oer three bachelor’s degrees. SOURCES: TEXAS HIGHER EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD, LONE STAR COLLEGE SYSTEM, RAND CORP. COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER ages 25-34 to have a certicate or degree to ensure a more educated population and workforce. 2030 The state’s 60x30TX plan, launched in 2015, aims for at least 60% of Texans 2020 LSCS’ three degrees rolling out in fall 2020 are part of 21 bachelor’s degrees approved since the Legislature’s decision in 2017. 2022 LSCS submits a report on its bachelor’s programs to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board every two years.

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Bachelor of Science in nursing

Bachelor of Applied Science in energy, manufacturing and tradesmanagement

Bachelor of Applied Technology in cybersecurity

Inaugural class size: 50 Related associate degrees: cybersecuri- ty, related information technology elds

Inaugural class size: 3035 Related associate degrees: must be a licensed registered nurse to apply

Inaugural class size: 50 (in each cohort) Related associate degrees: automotive technology, petroleum service techni- cian, welding technology

Establishing newprograms LSCS’ three programs are among the 21 bachelor’s degrees approved for community colleges since 2017, said Stacey Silverman, the assistant com- missioner for academic quality and workforce for the THECB. Another nine degree programs were launched prior to 2017, she said. In 2003, the state approved a pilot project in which the coordinating board tested the eectiveness of allowing community colleges to oer bachelor’s degrees at Brazosport Col- lege, Midland College and South Texas College. After more than a decade of assessment, the Legislature extended the opportunity to all community col- leges across the state, Silverman said. “The universities had questions about whether or not community colleges should be oering four-year degrees, and our argument was these are workforce programs [and] four- year schools normally do not oer workforce programs,” Head said. Since 2017, LSCS has worked to receive regional accreditation from the Southern Association for Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges as well as approval from the THECB, Jones said. This included proving the college system had adequate resources to oer quality programs and notifying nearby institutions of their intent to oer a bachelor’s pro- gram and resolve any concerns. “That application requires not only that we provide information about the curriculum, but that we show the economic need in our area, that we

show support from our other higher education partners in a 50-mile radius in our area that there is a demand that is not currently being met,” she said. Head said no new facilities were needed to oer the programs this fall, and the system has set aside money the last several years to accommodate them. About $300 million of the sys- tem’s $485 million bond referendum voters approved in 2014 is going to workforce facilities such as the $22 million, 133,000-square-foot West- way Park Technology Center located o Beltway 8 near Clay Road, he said. Once the programs are up and run- ning, LSCS ocials said they will sub- mit a report to the coordinating board every two years in addition to hosting occasional site visits and submitting more comprehensive reviews every 10 years. The board will monitor prog- ress in student enrollment, nances and other factors. Meetingworkforce needs Kim Hubbard, dean of the Westway Park Technology Center, said about 50 students would take part in the Bachelor of Applied Technology in cybersecurity program this fall. Since the facility opened in January 2019, Hubbard said overall enrollment has increased, but especially in the cybersecurity program, which enrolls more than 200 students. “We can maintain all of our pro- grams on the level of working in industry, [and] that simplymeans stu- dents have the opportunity to come in and experience an environment that

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Based on tuition rates at public universities that are popular for local students according to college system data, bachelor’s degrees elsewhere could cost six times more than LSCS charges. “Really at the heart of community colleges is that mission to serve the students that may otherwise struggle to have access to higher education, either for geographic reasons, for nancial reasons [or] for scheduling reasons,” she said. Jones said while LSCS is not the rst community college system in Texas to oer bachelor’s degrees, it is the rst to oer all three programs at once. Decisions regarding which pro- grams would be oered were based on feedback from local employers and demand from students, she said. While speaking with hiring manag- ers in communities served by LSCS, Chancellor Stephen Head said he was repeatedly told about a shortage of skilled labor. Head said he believes oering these programs will help keep graduates local. “When you get people trained at this level, it helps the economy because they make money; they buy houses and cars; they vote and all the reasons you want an educated pub- lic,” he said. “So we think over the long term, it not only helps the college but it helps our local communities. For the most part, people want to stay at home and go to college or stay near their home.”

COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM