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As a higher education institution serving the community in Houston, Texas, Lone Star College plays a vital role in addressing various community needs.

1.      Access to Education: One of the primary needs is to provide accessible and affordable education opportunities for individuals in the community. Lone Star College can offer a wide range of academic programs, including associate degrees, workforce certificates, and continuing education courses, to meet the diverse educational needs of students.

2.      Workforce Development: There is a growing demand for skilled workers in various industries in the Houston area. Lone Star College can collaborate with local businesses and industries to develop workforce training programs and certifications that align with workforce needs. By offering relevant and job-oriented training programs, the college can help individuals acquire the skills and qualifications needed to secure employment and advance in their careers.

3.      Support for Underrepresented Populations: Many individuals in the community, including minorities, low-income individuals, first-generation college students, and individuals with disabilities, may face barriers to accessing higher education. Lone Star College can implement outreach and support programs specifically targeted towards these populations to ensure they have equal opportunities for educational success. This may include providing financial aid, academic advising, tutoring services, and mentorship programs.

4.      Transfer and Articulation Pathways: Lone Star College can establish partnerships with four-year colleges and universities to create seamless transfer pathways for students who wish to continue their education beyond the associate degree level. By facilitating the transfer process and ensuring that credits earned at Lone Star College transfer smoothly to other institutions, the college can support students in achieving their educational goals and aspirations.

5.      Support Services for Student Success: Many students may require additional support services to succeed academically and personally. Lone Star College can provide services such as counseling, academic advising, career counseling, disability support services, childcare assistance, and financial literacy programs to help students overcome challenges and achieve their goals.

Career Exploration and Guidance: Many high school students may be unsure about their career paths or may lack exposure to different career options. Lone Star College can organize career exploration workshops, internships, job shadowing opportunities, and career fairs to help high school students explore various career fields, gain hands-on experience, and make informed decisions about their future educational and career goals.

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Holt, V. (2022, October 18). Lone Star College System awaits possible state funding changes in 2023. ABC13 Houston. https://abc13.com/outcome-based-school-funding-lone-star-community-college-88th-texas-legislative-session-student/12340482/

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Popularity Offers Challenges for Community Colleges

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On the front lines of the debate over whether four-year colleges are for everyone, community colleges are responding to new opportunities and some vexing problems.

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1.      Community colleges serve a diverse student body comprising recent high school graduates, adult learners, and individuals seeking career advancement or retraining. This diversity is highlighted in numerous studies, such as:

·         "Profile of Undergraduate Students: 2015–16" by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which provides demographic data on community college students in the United States.

·         "Community College Student Engagement: A Snapshot Report" by the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), which explores the characteristics and experiences of community college students.

2. Accessibility of Academic Support Services:

2. Research consistently underscores the importance of accessible academic support services for student success. You can refer to studies like:

3. " The Effects of Tutoring on Academic Performance" a study done by San Bernardino Valley college, which examines the effects of tutoring on academic outcomes in community colleges. Also, it discusses the role of counseling services in supporting community college students.

3. Financial Aid and Scholarship Opportunities:

3. The availability of financial aid and scholarships significantly influences college affordability and student retention. Relevant research includes:

4. "Financial Aid and Student Success: A Landscape Analysis of Selective Public Institutions" by the Education Advisory Board (EAB), which explores the impact of financial aid policies on student success. Furthermore, it examines the role of scholarships in facilitating access and persistence among low-income community college students.

4. Access to Affordable Housing, Transportation, and Healthcare:

4. Studies have documented the challenges that community college students face in accessing basic needs such as housing, transportation, and healthcare. Examples include:

5. "Addressing Basic Needs Security in Higher Education: An Exploratory Study of a Basic Needs Program at a Large Public University" by Katharine M. Broton and Sara Goldrick-Rab, which investigates the impact of basic needs insecurity on community college students' educational outcomes.

5. Campus Environment, Safety, and Inclusivity:

5. Creating a safe and inclusive campus environment is crucial for student well-being and academic success. Relevant research includes:

6. "Creating Inclusive college Classrooms" by Shari Saunders and Diana Kardia (1997) which discusses best practices for fostering inclusivity on college campuses.

7. By referencing these studies and others like them, you can provide a strong foundation for the survey's methodology and its relevance to the needs of Lone Star Community College students.

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References

Education Advisory Board (EAB). (2019). Financial Aid and Student Success: A Landscape Analysis of Selective Public Institutions. https://eab.com/

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (2017). Profile of Undergraduate Students: 2015–16. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2019/2019467.pdf

San Bernardino Valley College. (Year). The Effects of Tutoring on Academic Performance.    https://www.valleycollege.edu/about-sbvc/offices/office-research-planning/reports/tutoring- performance-measures-final-revisions-review.pdf

Saunders, S., & Kardia, D. (1997). Creating Inclusive college Classrooms. https://crlt.umich.edu/gsis/p3_1

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Holt, V. (2022, October 18). Lone Star College System awaits possible state funding changes in 2023. ABC13 Houston. https://abc13.com/outcome-based-school-funding-lone-star-community-college-88th-texas-legislative-session-student/12340482/

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HOUSTON, Texas -- Community colleges across the state, including the Lone Star College System, may see a change in how they receive state funding in the coming years.
The video featured above is from a previous report on Lone Star College System adding e-learning opportunities for fall 2022.
Going into the 88th Texas legislative session in 2023, the state may shift from focusing on enrollment to student outcomes in determining funding for colleges.

Information from the Texas Commission on Community College Finance, which was appointed by the state in 2021 and is overseeing the proposed changes, indicates 65% of 5,000 respondents to a July and August survey by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board are in favor of changing the state funding to be outcome-based.

LSCS Chancellor Stephen Head, who serves on the commission, said there could be an $8 million to $10 million increase in funding for LSCS as early as fall 2023 if the Legislature approves the changes. However, he said the changes are more beneficial for smaller, more rural community colleges.

"What is driving this is a disparity gap between a number of community colleges," Head said. "There are 50 in the state, and 22 of them have an enrollment of less than 5,000. Colleges like ours that spend around $50 million in technology. ... These other colleges cannot keep up."

The final proposed changes are anticipated to be presented to the Legislature in November, and Head said he and the commission are optimistic it could pass in the next session.

As the LSCS awaits the possibility of additional state funding, the college system is considering increasing its homestead exemption after area residents spoke out regarding the college's exemption rates during budget workshops, a change that could cost millions in annual tax revenues.

"I think you are seeing a real effort to provide more opportunities for everyone," Head said.
Outcome-based funding
Community colleges receive $1.3 million for core operations with additional funding available based on factors such as the number of student contact hours, or hours of scheduled instruction, according to information from Dallas-based nonprofit Texas 2036.

The college system has seen a decrease in both its systemwide student headcount and contact hours since 2017. Enrollment dropped from 89,319 to 85,164, and contact hours decreased from around 11.9 million hours to around 11 million, according to LSCS data.

LSCS budget documents also indicate tuition revenue declined following fiscal year 2019-20, dropping from around $130 million to around $124 million for fiscal year 2022-23.

A Sept. 12 presentation from the Texas Commission on Community College Finance stated there is demand to align funding with three major outcomes: credentials of value, credentials in high-demand fields and transfer success. Head said he believes the changes will provide greater benefits to the smaller community colleges outside of Houston, Dallas and Austin, which see greater business and population growth. He added there is also a push to fund the economically and academically disadvantaged.

"We would benefit from that; ... 57% of students in our independent school districts are economically disadvantaged," he said.

The LSCS will receive around 20% of its total revenue from the state, 29% from student tuition, 48% from local taxes and 3% from miscellaneous sources in FY 2022-23. Budget documents project state funding will total around $83 million for fiscal year 2022-23, the same as the previous year. Head said the additional proposed funding could be used for purposes such as hiring additional staff, opening new facilities or replacing revenue lost from increasing the homestead exemption if the board approves it.

Matthew Fuller, a professor of higher education leadership at Sam Houston State University, said he is largely in support of the changes.

"Every educational funding formula has winners and losers," Fuller said. "Those community colleges who attract students that are perhaps less prepared for college ... they have a little bit more of an uphill battle in terms of getting those students to completion."

Fuller said he also questions how the Legislature will define student success.

"I think there are people that will look forward to this ... that may be traditionally losing out in the current funding system," he said.
State angle
State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, is among the commission members working to bring the proposed changes to the 88th Legislature.

"Through prioritizing strategic outcomes for student and workforce needs, the entire Texas economy will benefit," Creighton said in an email statement. Creighton said he believes the proposed changes would be beneficial for both LSCS and The Woodlands community.

Matt Olmstead, an independent researcher in the field of performance-based funding in higher education who has worked with SHSU, said performance-based funding from the state has been in effect since 2012, making up around 10%-15% of the total funding provided to community colleges.

"Over time, there have not been a lot of changes to that model," Olmstead said.

Olmstead said he is concerned how the guidelines will be laid out.

"What is implemented for one large urban community college system is the same metric as a small community college in East Texas," he said. "Through research, that is the major challenge at this point."

Olmstead noted an unintended consequence of shifting to more emphasis on performance-based funding would be meeting individual institutional missions. He said larger community colleges may be at a slight disadvantage compared to smaller institutions as they will have to show they are completing the metrics rather than having a larger student body.
Examining exemptions
Another potential change for LSCS' revenue sources would be increasing the amount of the property tax exemption permitted for homeowners residing in the district following resident feedback.

LSCS has a 1% or $5,000 exemption, whichever is higher, for homeowners within its boundaries. According to the Texas comptroller's office, a homestead exemption removes part of the home's value from taxation.

Texas allows up to a 20% exemption, and residents asked that the exemption be increased to the maximum amount during a Sept. 8 board of trustees meeting. LSCS taxpayer Susan Scruggs said residents are feeling pressure from high appraisals and inflation.

"I am asking you folks to look into your budget and find out how you can do an exemption for the people who have supported you for so many years," Scruggs said at the Sept. 8 meeting.

During the meeting, LSCS Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Mott provided information on a phased approach to increasing the exemptions over five years.

Mott said an immediate shift to a 20% exemption would mean $17 million less revenue based on an average home appraisal of $285,000, and the average taxpayer would save around $56.14 annually.

Head said the board of trustees will begin assessing the exemption increases in February, and changes to the exemption rate will need to be set by July 1.

"Right now, we have a lot of unknowns," Head said. "We want to be really careful with this."
This article comes from our ABC13 partners at Community Impact Newspapers. RELATED: FBISD puts decisions on cuts, compensation, and school security in voter's hands

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Lone Star College System awaits possible state funding changes in 2023

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Texas might begin to focus on the outcome instead of enrollment looking ahead to the 88th legislative session in 2023

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Learn more to earn more with an affordable, world-class education. 200+ programs including university transfer, high-quality job training, and online degrees.

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Herder, L. (2021, November 9). Texas’s community colleges find creative ways around decreased funding in response to low enrollment. Diverse. https://www.diverseeducation.com/institutions/community-colleges/article/15281230/texass-community-colleges-find-creative-ways-around-decreased-funding-in-response-to-low-enrollment

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The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board released its preliminary headcount for Texas schools in fall 2021, revealing an 11% loss of enrollment at Texas's community colleges since 2019.

"Sadly, the pandemic has had a disparate impact on community colleges, and it's hit everyone," said Jacob Fraire, president of the Texas Association of Community Colleges (TACC). "When we look at reductions in enrollment, there's no pattern between urban and rural. Everyone saw reductions."

However, the state distributes funding biennially, using a formula that does take enrollment into consideration. Schools that saw an enrollment reduction in fall 2020, the year funding was distributed, received less than their previous allocation of state funds. Twenty-one colleges were negatively impacted.

As the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) timelines come to their close, the extra federal funding that may have cleared up short-term financial worries will disappear. During its 87thlegislature held at the beginning of this year, the Texas government created the Commission on Community College Finance which will investigate the needs of community college funding across the state and make recommendations for the funding formula to be presented at the 88th legislature in December 2022. The commission meets for the first time next week. But until the committee has completed its recommendations, community college funding will continue to be based on COVID-era enrollment.

Dr. Thomas Brock, director of the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at the Teachers College at Columbia University, said that because community colleges across the U.S. are mostly funded based on enrollment, a sort of downward spiral could begin for institutions that are losing students.

"Fewer students mean cuts in services and programs, and we could see a bigger drop. That's the worst-case scenario," said Brock. "These enrollment struggles underscore the need for community colleges to make critical reforms to make sure students get support, structure, programs, classes, and advising they need."

The largest demographic enrollment drop in Texas came from Black and Latinx students. While Black student enrollments have continued to decrease, there has been some bounce back for Latinx students, but "nowhere near fall 2019 enrollment numbers," said Fraire.

The greatest impact to Texas's community college enrollment came from first time enrolling students, those who enroll immediately after graduating high school. Texas was already a bit behind the nation in first time enrollment, lagging nationally by 15 percentage points before the pandemic, said Fraire.

Since 2019, "we saw a 20% drop in Texas [for first time enrolling students]," said Fraire. "That's huge. National data tells us the students who are delaying enrollment in any college are substantially less likely to get any credential during their lifetime."

Amarillo College is fighting those odds. Serving 34 school districts and 26 counties in and around Texas's panhandle, their enrollment numbers have jumped back and forth during the COVID years. But overall, they have seen their first time enrollment numbers increase. Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart, Amarillo College president, credits this countertrend to his institution's local college promise program.

"It's for anyone from our local Amarillo independent school district that just graduated from high school," said Lowery-Hart, about the initiative. "It's a last dollar program that covers books, tuition and fees. If you graduate from Amarillo in good standing, you can come to Amarillo College for free."

Four local community organizations, Amarillo College, Amarillo Independent School Districts, Amarillo Area Foundation, and Amarillo Economic Development Corporation came together to create the promise program as an experiment.

In spite of bucking the trend in new student enrollment and an overall growth in their fall 2021 numbers, because enrollment was down in fall 2020, Amarillo College received $2 million less in state funding they received for their fall 2018 enrollment.

"Now our focus is really on retaining the students we have," Lowery-Hart continued. "The culture of caring we're known for is deepening. Now every student goes through assessments on financial health and wellness, and we're trying to make sure no life barrier gets in the way. We have a real sense of where our students are struggling."

Lone Star College, which serves the mostly urban area around Houston, was one of the few institutions that did not see a sizable drop in its fall 2020 enrollment. As a result, they received more in state funding than they had in years before, taking home the second highest appropriation in the state, according to Chancellor Dr. Steve Head.

"We're the anomaly," said Head. "Most of the Houston metropolitan area community colleges have been minus 10 [percentage points] or so."

Head cites two reasons for his institution's success, the first being Lone Star's pre-pandemic mission to increase retention and completion, particularly for Black and Latinx students. The second change Head made was to increase funding to his marketing department. The school increased television, radio, and billboard advertising.

"I realize that's old school," said Head, "But the parents are the ones usually making the decisions in COVID," and he felt that those types of advertisements were the best way to reach them. Potential students, said Head, were already connecting with Lone Star on social media.

Every percentage point in enrollment, said Head, is equivalent to about 800 full-time students, or $1.2 million in funding for the school.

"That's counting state money," he said. "So, it's important that we spend the money to make sure students and parents know what we're doing. It's a continuous effort of marketing, communication, and perceptions."

Creative thinking will be necessary for community colleges to protect themselves from enrollment-related revenue drops, said Dr. Karen Stout, president of Achieving the Dream, a nonprofit organization focused on student success at community colleges. Community college leaders, Stout said, need to think differently about how to demonstrate their value to funders.

"It's easy to say, we have more students, therefore we need more money," said Stout. "But I think we need to be thinking about how what we do creates a vibrant community."

If community colleges can convince local players to support their mission, then, said Stout, enrollment won't matter as much as the impact education has on its community.
Liann Herder can be reached at lherder@diverseeducation.com.

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Texas's Community Colleges Find Creative Ways Around Decreased Funding in Response to Low Enrollment

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The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board released its preliminary headcount for Texas schools in fall 2021, revealing an 11% loss of enrollment at Texas's community colleges since 2019. "Sadly, the pandemic has had a disparate impact on community colleges, and it's hit everyone," said Jacob Fraire, president of the Texas Association of Community Colleges (TACC).

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Gaps, Critical Issues, and Partnerships Report

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Gaps, Critical Issues, and Partnerships Report