The UH System is offering Houston’s northwest region a new distance program for students in northwest Harris County.
UH signed a five-year leasing agreement with Lone Star College on March 25 to utilize 41,500 square feet of classroom space at the Lone Star College-University Park campus.
Rent for the space has been fixed at $674,375 annually.
“I’m so excited that the UH system is coming to a campus that is actually accessible to me,” Lone Star College communication junior Dustin Burke said. “When I first entered college, I wanted to originally attend the UH School of Communication, but since it was way too far outside of my area, I just decided to attend a closer college.”
This new addition to the University will provide more accessible higher education to current UH commuter students who travel from the Tomball and northwest region of Houston and students who attend community colleges in the area.
“To wake up three hours prior to my class’s start time to beat traffic and handle the parking situation in the morning is ridiculous, but I’m willing to make this sacrifice for the degree plans offered at UH,” dance senior Christina Pratts said.
According to a 2009 poll conducted by the UH Office of Institutional Research, an estimated 32 percent of the student body live outside of Harris County.
“This seems like a great idea for the extension of the University. I feel as though I will be able to get the same teachers and classes from a higher level college such as UH,” theater senior Yahute Casteneda said. “My only concern is geared towards transferring credits between universities.”
The signing of this lease will bridge the curriculum provided at UH and UH-Downtown to the Lone Star College-University Park campus and make UH degree programs adaptable and available to out-of-district students so that they may graduate with a UH diploma. The curriculum provided includes professional certifications, undergraduate and graduate programs in fields such as communication, business, information technology, humanities, education, criminal justice and science.
The space will include 15 classrooms and an enrollment services center for academic advising, recruiting and instructional support.
The UH System will pay $2.3 million to furnish the space.
Students interested in recruitment can attend the upcoming orientation meeting and open house on the Lone Star Campus from 3-8 p.m. April 29, during which they can meet with counselors.
Contact Louis Evans at [email protected] or 217-221-2766 for more information.
Lone Star College-University Park in not any where near Humble. Please re-post with the heading and content corrected.