Committed to Success: Lee College is Your Community’s College

BAYTOWN, TX, Apr. 13, 2022 – Lee College has joined #CCMonth, a monthlong grassroots education and stigma-busting campaign coordinated by the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). The goal is to improve awareness of the economic, academic and equity advantages of attending a community college.
Ranked among the top 20 Best Community Colleges in Texas for 2022, according to Niche, Lee is a comprehensive college offering transfer programs that lead to bachelor’s degrees and a wide array of workforce degrees and certificates that lead directly to careers with family-sustaining wages.

“The COVID-19 pandemic and the hit to our economy is proof – beyond any doubt – that college is absolutely vital to our community and our state,” said Dr. Lynda Villanueva, Lee College president. “#CCMonth is an opportunity to demonstrate not only that community colleges should be the first choice of many collegegoers, but also why community colleges are first-class institutions that are vital to our local and state economies.”

Committed to student success for 88 years, Lee College’s academic programs are structured in six pathways:

Applied Business
Health Sciences
Liberal and Fine Arts
Manufacturing and Industrial
Public Service
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)
The most recent addition to the applied business pathway is logistics & supply chain management, which prepares students for entry-level to mid-entry employment in logistics and supply chain technology career fields. Students get hands-on learning in the Logistics Training Center, a fully functioning warehouse training facility as well as a research and development laboratory and state-of-the-art classrooms.

Programs Launching Fall 2022

This fall, the college is planning to launch new associate degree and certificate programs in cyber security and cloud computing, as well as an associate in applied science degree for students interested martial arts school operations including both business and instructional aspects.

Nursing Program Expansion

Since the new year, construction crews have been busy inside the McNulty-Haddock Building on a major expansion that will double the capacity for Lee College’s nursing programs. Once the work is complete, students pursuing an Associate Degree in Nursing or a Licensed Vocational Nursing certificate will have access to high-tech simulation laboratories with 30 patient beds, critical care and labor and delivery rooms. A revamped curriculum will focus on giving students a complete, integrated view of what it is like to be a health care provider in a post-pandemic world.

“Nursing is much more complex than it was 20 years ago. Patients are living longer and presenting to the facilities with multiple underlying conditions,” said Dr. Janena Norris, dean of Nursing and Allied Health. “Being a nurse is a big responsibility which requires critical thinking and quick decision making. For students to enter the workforce ready to make those tough decisions, they must have practice and simulation allows them a safe space to practice those critical decision-making skills without worry of actual patient harm.”
On-Demand Virtual Health and Well-Being for Students, PT Employees

Also beginning in fall 2022, new telehealth services for Lee College students and part-time employees. During their February meeting, the Lee College Board of Regents unanimously approved a contract with TimelyMD for students and part-time employees to have unlimited, on-demand access to medical and mental health providers at their fingertips.

“We know as members of the board of regents who live and work in the same communities Lee College serves that now, more than ever, students need support services that enable them to thrive holistically,” said Gilbert Santana, chair, board of regents. “Having student-first telehealth will add a new dimension to our existing services to allow students to succeed both academically and in all other facets of their lives.”

Research shows the greater Houston area has the highest percentage (20%) of uninsured Americans in the United States. A lack of medical insurance is a significant problem for students.

“Many of our students have insurance that is only used for emergencies because deductibles and co-pays are prohibitively high, and the pandemic has made the problem much worse – especially for mental health services,” said Dr. Douglas Walcerz, provost and vice president of academic and student affairs. “These students need better access to health care to be successful.”

TimelyMD will be provided to all regular enrollment students and the cost will be paid with a mandatory health program fee of $12.50 per semester. The unlimited, 24/7, on-demand visits with licensed health care providers includes:

Triage mental health support
Coaching services
Crisis management
Scheduled medical appointments capable of addressing over 75% of concerns that send students to the clinic, doctor, urgent care or emergency room
Nutritionists, dieticians or health coaches
Basic needs such as support for food, housing, childcare, transportation and legal services
“Community colleges are engines of diversity, equity and inclusion,” said ACCT President and CEO Jee Hang Lee. “They give opportunities to all students, and they support all students throughout their educations, whether they attend to attain an associate degree or certificate, intend to transfer on for a bachelor’s or higher degree, or they take one or a few courses to learn a new skill or expand their horizons.”

With the main campus and McNair Center located in Baytown and a satellite center in nearby Liberty, the college serves a geographic area of more than 220,000 residents that includes the school systems of Goose Creek, Anahuac, Barbers Hill, Baytown Christian Academy, Crosby, Dayton, Devers, East Chambers, Hardin, Hardin-Jefferson, Huffman, Hull-Daisetta, Kountze, Liberty and West Hardin. Click here to explore Lee College’s pathways and programs.

About Lee College
Lee College in Baytown, Texas is a comprehensive college offering transfer programs that lead to bachelor’s degrees and a wide array of workforce degrees and certificates that prepare students for careers with family-sustaining wages. Founded in 1934, Lee College covers four locations in Harris, Walker and Liberty Counties. Learn more at lee.edu.