System History
In 1972, residents in the Aldine, Humble and Spring Independent School Districts elected to create a junior college district, which became known as North Harris County College. We opened our doors in the fall of 1973 and our 16-member staff welcomed 613 students to the first classes held at Aldine High School.
The original three school districts have been joined by eight others: New Caney in 1981, Tomball in 1982, Conroe in 1991, Willis and Splendora in 1996, Klein in 1998, and Cypress-Fairbanks and Magnolia in 2000. The number of students we serve has grown from the original 613 to more than 45,000 per semester.
The Lone Star College System district offices were relocated to their current location in The Woodlands in 2003. The Training and Development Center was added to serve as the home of the district’s monthly board meetings as well as create ideal learning facility for the district and the community.
Accreditation
The Lone Star College System, formerly known as the North Harris Montgomery Community College District, is accredited through the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
Accredited since 1976, Lone Star’s accreditation was reaffirmed in 2001. SACS is one of six nationally recognized regional accreditation agencies through the United States Department of Education and oversees the accreditation of colleges in 11 southern states. For further information on SACS and regional accreditation please point your browser to http://www.sacs.org, or call 404.679.4501.
Individual programs at Lone Star are further approved by numerous national associations and state credentialing agencies including the American Dental Association, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacist Commission on Credentialing, the American Veterinary Medical Association, The Board of Nurse Examiners for the State of Texas, the Commission on Accreditation for Allied Health Education Programs, the Commission on Accreditation for Physical Therapy Education, the Texas Department of Health Services, the Texas Education Agency and many others. For a complete list of the system’s additional approving agencies see page 10 of the current college catalog.