- Lone Star College System
-
Lone Star College System 
Established 1973 Type Community College system Chancellor Richard Carpenter, Ed.D Students 75,680 Location Houston
uninc. Harris Co
uninc. Montgomery Co
Conroe
Tomball, Texas, United StatesCampus LSC-CyFair
LSC-Kingwood
LSC-Montgomery
LSC-North Harris
LSC-Tomball
LSC-University Center
LSC-University ParkFormer names North Harris Montgomery Community College District (NHMCCD)
North Harris County College (NHCC)Nickname LSC (or LSCS) Website Lone Star College System 
Lone Star College-North Harris Greenspoint Center, the former headquarters of the system
Lone Star College System (LSCS) is a publicly funded, two-year, United States community college system serving the northern portions of the Greater Houston, Texas, area. With more than 75,000 students in credit classes for fall 2011, 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 Texas. [1] The headquarters of the Lone Star College System are located in The Woodlands and in unincorporated Montgomery County, Texas. In 2010 the district was the largest higher education institution in Greater Houston in terms of student enrollment. [2]
Lone Star College System is a member of the Service members Opportunity Colleges Consortium. The list of member colleges may be viewed here .
As defined by the Texas Legislature, the official service area of LSCS includes territory within the following school districts:[3]
- Aldine Independent School District
- Cleveland Independent School District (*)
- Conroe Independent School District
- Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District
- Humble Independent School District
- Huntsville Independent School District (*)
- Klein Independent School District
- Magnolia Independent School District
- Montgomery Independent School District (*)
- New Caney Independent School District
- New Waverly Independent School District (*)
- Splendora Independent School District
- Spring Independent School District
- Tarkington Independent School District (*)
- Tomball Independent School District
- Willis Independent School District
(*)district included in service area by state law, but is not part of the tax base.
Contents
History and name changes
The voters of the Aldine, Spring, and Humble school districts created North Harris County College in 1972 and opened the college for classes in 1973.
The district expanded in 1991 to cover neighboring Montgomery County and adopted the new name of North Harris Montgomery Community College District.
As the district expanded to include areas outside north Harris and Montgomery Counties, the Board of Trustees decided the District's current name did not adequately define the service area, plus it was hard to remember and was quite lengthy. During the first semester of the 2007 - 2008 school year, trustees initiated a name-change process using an online voting system [1]; among the options was the name Lone Star College System which was offered as 1) two of the colleges (Lone Star College–North Harris and Lone Star College–Montgomery) already included the name and 2) the 75th Texas Legislature adopted HR1123, recognizing Montgomery County as the birthplace of the Flag of Texas, known for its lone star which serves as the state motto.[citation needed]
The name Lone Star College System was selected by those voting, and on November 1, 2007, the Board of Trustees officially approved Lone Star College System as the District's new name. The Lone Star College logo, known as "The Star of Tomorrow," was designed by Houston advertising agency Richards/Carlberg.[4][5]
On May 1, 2009, Lone Star College System has purchased the core of the Hewlett Packard(part of Compaq's former headquarters) North Campus on State Highway 249 at Louetta Road in Northwest Harris County. According to Chancellor Richard Carpenter, the facility will serve multiple purposes, including a new university center for north Harris County, an instructional satellite campus, a Corporate College conference and training facility, and System administration and support space. The purchase gives LSCS 1,200,000 square feet (110,000 m2) of additional space in eight major buildings, as well as parking garages and other support infrastructure, making this one of the largest such acquisitions in higher education history.[6]
Locations
Campuses
Lone Star College-Fairbanks Center- Lone Star College–CyFair (uninc. Harris County)
- Lone Star College–CyFair, opened 2003, serves more than 18,000 students with unique programs in fire science technology, logistics management and sonography. The library is a joint project between LSCS and the Harris County Public Library.
- Campus Centers: Fairbanks Center and Cypress Center (2011)
- Lone Star College–Kingwood (Houston)
- Kingwood College, opened 1984, serves more than 10,200 students and has distinct offerings in interior design, respiratory care and dental hygiene.
- Campus Centers: EMCID Center and Atascocita Center | High School Campuses: Cleveland High School and Atascocita High School.
- Lone Star College–Montgomery (uninc. Montgomery County)
- Montgomery College, opened 1992, serves more than 12,000 students and is the only Lone Star College System campus to offer biotechnology and physical therapist assistant degrees.
- Campus Center: Conroe Center
- Lone Star College–North Harris (uninc. Harris County)
- North Harris College, opened 1973, serves more than 16,000 students and is the district’s only source for automotive technology, health information technology, child development and family studies, paralegal studies,and pharmacy technology programs. A new multi-use Educational and Community Development Center is to be built. This center will replace Carver Center, owned by Aldine ISD.[7]
- Campus Centers: Greenspoint Center, Health Professions Building and Victory Center | High School Campus: MacArthur High School
- Lone Star College–Tomball (Tomball)
- Tomball College, opened 1988, serves more than 11,000 students and is home to the district’s only veterinary technology and wireless telecommunications tech prep programs. The Lone Star College-Tomball Community Library is a joint project between LSCS and the Harris County Public Library.
- Campus Center: LSC-University Park (formerly Willow Chase Center) | High School Campuses: Klein Oak High School and Magnolia West High School.
University centers
- Lone Star College–University Center (The Woodlands, uninc. Montgomery County)
- The University Center is a partnership among LSCS and five Texas universities through which district students can pursue bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees as well as post-baccalaureate teacher certifications.
- Lone Star College–University Park (uninc. Harris County)
- The second LSCS multi-institution teaching center serving northwest Harris County will begin offering instructional classes in spring 2010.[8] The multi-institution teaching center will open its doors in January 2010 with limited degree programs and courses offered by the University of Houston (UH) and the University of Houston–Downtown (UHD), both of which are separate and distinct degree-granting institutions. The campus includes a conference center, which will be used for Lone Star Corporate College training and community meetings, a 900-seat, fully equipped cafeteria, and a fitness center.[9]
Bond election
On March 7, 2008 LSCS called and approved $420 million bond election for May 10. The board upheld its promise not to increase property taxes by cutting $41.7 million from the original bond proposal, which totaled more than $460 million. The system plans to concentrate on health and science facilities due to a critical shortage of healthcare workers and emergency medical technicians, most of whom are trained at community colleges, prompting the inclusion of a new health professions building at Lone Star College–North Harris and a science and health building at the Montgomery campus. LSCS last attempt to pass more than $200 million in the bond election of November 2006 failed.[10][11]
May 10, 2008 Bond Election Results:[12]
Proposition Total Votes For 13,574 62.25% Against 8,232 37.75% TOTAL 21,806 100.0% By the numbers
- $263.4 million: Instructional facilities
- $44.2 million: Student services facilities
- $38.3 million: Traffic and safety
- $25.9 million: Technology infrastructure
- $20.1 million: Five percent bond costs/inflation/contingencies
- $15.3 million: Academic support facilities
- $8.7 million: Plant system replacements
- $4.1 million: Administrative support facilities
Headquarters
The headquarters of the Lone Star College System are located in The Woodlands and in unincorporated Montgomery County, Texas.[13] The district moved to its current location on March 17, 2003.[14] The administrative headquarters of the district were previously located in the Greenspoint district and in Houston in a building now known as the Lone Star College-North Harris Greenspoint Center.[15][16]
References
- ^ http://www.lonestar.edu/18206.htm
- ^ LSCS ranks as largest Houston-area college. The Courier of Montgomery County. April 4, 2010. Retrieved on April 5, 2010.
- ^ Texas Education Code, Section 130.191, "North Harris Montgomery Community College System District Service Area"
- ^ http://www.lonestar.edu/departments/alumni/alumni_taajan08.pdf
- ^ http://www.richardscarlberg.com/
- ^ http://www.lonestar.edu/10669.htm
- ^ http://www.lonestar.edu/12707.htm
- ^ http://www.lonestar.edu/10669.htm LSCS purchases center core of HP north campus
- ^ http://wwwappsdstc.lonestar.edu/chancellor/August2009_text.html#purchase New LSC-University Center features
- ^ http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5600785.html Chron.com - $420 million bond election
- ^ http://www.lonestar.edu/133100/ LSCS Bond Proposal
- ^ Election Results
- ^ "Contact Directory." Lone Star College System. Retrieved on April 5, 2010.
- ^ Home. North Harris Montgomery Community College District. March 23, 2003. Retrieved on April 5, 2010.
- ^ "Designation of Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement." North Harris Montgomery Community College District. January 20, 2000. Retrieved on April 5, 2010.
- ^ "Addresses & Phone Numbers." North Harris Montgomery Community College District. December 15, 2002. Retrieved on April 5, 2010.
External links
Categories:- Lone Star College System
- Education in Harris County, Texas
- Education in Montgomery County, Texas
- Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
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