New Program at Lone Star College-Montgomery Meets Need for Trained Professionals in High-Growth Industry
Lone Star College-Montgomery’s new audio visual systems specialist (AVSS) program, the first such academic program in the state of Texas, recently received a $430,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grant will help the program develop an educational pathway for AVSS students to earn jobs with such organizations as conference centers, hotels, sports arenas, churches and other venues requiring integrated, high technology communication needs.
The three-year NSF grant, which begins May 1, will provide state-of-the-art audio visual equipment for the program, salaries for faculty and support staff, as well as funds to conduct workshops and training to encourage similar program start-ups at other institutions.
“The audio visual industry is growing so fast, and our program is meeting a critical need for trained professionals,” said Dr. Tom Butler, president of Lone Star College-Montgomery. “This grant allows us to build a premier program—one that other education institutions will look to as a model for success.”
According to the America’s Career InfoNet Occupation Report, there will be an 18 percent increase in the AV field over the next seven years, and median hourly salary for this field in the state of Texas is $13.51, with some AV technicians earning up to $24.48 in entry-level positions. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the AV industry to expand by 18,000 jobs nationwide through 2016.
The college’s AVSS program was officially approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in December, and the first classes in the program begin this fall. The program provides three levels of training, including a Level I certificate (two semesters); Level II certificate (three semesters); and the AAS degree, which is a two-year program. As part of the Level II and AAS programs, students will participate in internships with local businesses and organizations.
Several local businesses in the audio visual industry enthusiastically support the program by serving on its advisory committee, and many played a key role by writing letters of support for the NSF grant.
Christopher Dunn, vice president of StageLight, Inc., a large lighting system design and sales company with offices in Houston, New Orleans, Dallas and Nashville, said his company is excited about providing guidance for the LSC-Montgomery’s AVSS program which he said “is in the right place at the right time.”
“Over the last 15 years our company has grown from a small operation in a house to a large corporation operating out of four different cities,” said Dunn. “The technology of our industry continues to grow but what hasn’t grown along with it is qualified personnel. The need in our industry is substantial. There is a great shortfall of qualified technicians in this industry and we're pleased to be part of a program that will equip people to meet that need.”
Students will work with companies like StageLight, The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel, Anadarko, Audio Visual Professional Group, Hairel Enterprises, and Fellowship of The Woodlands during the internship portion of the program.
Additionally, the Conroe Independent School District has partnered with the LSC-Montgomery program, providing a pipeline of interested students via the college’s dual credit program in which high school students earn both high school and college credit simultaneously.
"We are excited that this program will afford our high school students an opportunity to earn their first level certificate before they even graduate," said Chris Hines, associate superintendent of Conroe ISD. "We have several students that are truly interested in this exciting and technical field and they have already begun to enroll. The addition of the grant and what it will support will make this program even stronger."
In addition to providing an associate of applied science (AAS) degree, the program will also offer customized business training for existing workers in the AV industry.
“Practical training in this line of work is hard to come by, and we are thrilled that the college has such a robust program,” said Dave Marks, director of the media department at Fellowship of The Woodlands, one of the largest churches in the Houston area. “We work too hard and too fast to do formal training here at the church, so we have several part-time employees who are already signed up for this program.”
With an emphasis on two-year colleges, the NSF’s Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program, which funded the college’s grant, focuses on the education of technicians for the high-technology fields that drive the nation's economy. The program involves partnerships between academic institutions and employers to promote improvement in the education of science and engineering technicians at the undergraduate and secondary school levels.
For more information on the AVSS program, contact Chase Waites, professor of theatre, by phone at (936) 271-6127 or e-mail chase.waites@LoneStar.edu.
For more information about Lone Star College-Montgomery, visit Montgomery.LoneStar.edu or call (936) 273-7000. The college is located at 3200 College Park Drive, approximately one-quarter mile west of I-45 between Conroe and The Woodlands.
Lone Star College System consists of five colleges, including CyFair, Kingwood, Montgomery, North Harris, and Tomball, six centers and Lone Star College-University Center. With 49,250 students, it is the largest college system in the Houston area, and third largest community college district in Texas. To learn more, visit http://LoneStar.edu.