The Lone Star College system plans on adding several more bachelor degrees after Gov. Greg Abbott approved legislation to expand the college system’s baccalaureate degree program.
Currently, the college system has three bachelor programs that filled up quickly when first announced. With this new legislation the college system can now offer up to five bachelor programs at a time. Already, LSC has plans to submit a proposal to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for a bachelor of science in emergency management degree.
To better meet the needs of the community and students, LSC has several different advisory committees that help the college system make decisions. While choosing bachelor degree programs to offer, LSC relied heavily on the advice from these committees.
“What they’ve been telling us is that the first two years are fine in the training that we’re doing, but as people move into leadership roles and management roles they need to have bachelors degrees, and the universities don’t offer workforce degrees like that,” LSC Chancellor Steven Head said. “We were trying to fill a niche that we know is out there.”
In response, the college system created three degree programs: cybersecurity, nursing, and energy, manufacturing, and trades management. Last year, the first year that classes for the degree programs were available, there were 200 openings and over 2,000 applications.
The college system is planning on creating a degree in Emergency Management as the area continues to experience a rising degree of emergency situations.
“What’s been happening the last couple of years is we seem to have one issue after another, it’s kind of a way of life around here. The question is, what are you going to do about it?” Head said. “We may need people in leadership roles that can be leaders and can be managing other people.”
Emergency management prepares for severe weather incidents like tropical storms, as well as creates a response to situations like flooding or freezing. Head said there are already students who have shown interest in this degree program.
The process of getting the degree program is a detailed one, Head said, but he’s optimistic that it will be approved. He is hoping that LSC will be able to start offering the necessary classes ext spring semester at the earliest.
“We have the funding for it, we already put money in the budget for it anticipating that it will be approved,” Head said.
Lone Star College is still exploring options for the second bachelor degree opportunity that the new legislation made available.
jamie.swinnerton@chron.com
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