Lamar State College - Port Arthur
Lamar State College - Port Arthur has provided affordable, quality educational opportunities to residents of
the Southeast Texas area since 1909.
Lamar State College - Port Arthur, a member of The Texas State University System, is an open-access, comprehensive public two-year college offering quality and affordable instruction leading to associate degrees and a variety of certificates. The College embraces the premise that education is an ongoing process that enhances career potential, broadens intellectual horizons, and enriches life.
- Shared commitment by faculty, staff and administration to a mission characterized by student learning, diversity, and community involvement
- General education/core curriculum that develops the values and concepts that allow the student to make a meaningful contribution in the workplace or community
- Academic and technical programs designed to fulfill our commitment to accommodate students with diverse goals and backgrounds, using a variety of delivery methods, on and off campus
- Technical education programs that provide for the acquisition of the knowledge, skills and behavior necessary for initial and continued employment
- Student achievement characterized by attainment of individual goals and measured by successful accomplishments and completion of curriculum
- Co-curricular opportunities that develop social, financial and civic acuity
Lamar State College - Port Arthur operates in the belief that all individuals should be:
- Treated with dignity and respect;
- Afforded equal opportunity to acquire a complete educational experience;
- Given an opportunity to discover and develop their special aptitudes and insights;
- Provided an opportunity to equip themselves for a fulfilling life and responsible citizenship in a world characterized by change.
Lamar State College-Port Arthur, a two-year, state-supported institution, is a member of
The Texas State University System. Located in Port Arthur, an industrial and cultural center
of Southeast Texas, the college offers freshman- and sophomore-level work in numerous
academic and technical/vocational fields. The campus sits between the 1,000 and 1,800 blocks
of Procter Street and Lakeshore Drive.
The city has modern public schools, churches, shopping districts and recreation areas
serving a community of approximately 70,000 persons. Principal area industries are oil
refining, chemical production, shipping and shipbuilding. The metropolitan area, known as
the Golden Triangle, includes the cities of Beaumont, Orange, Vidor, Port Neches,
Nederland, Groves and Bridge City. All lie within 25 miles of Port Arthur and form the heart
of the upper Texas Gulf Coast where approximately 350,000 live.
John W. Gates of New York City, one of the founders of Texaco, established Port Arthur
Business College in 1909, to train people for the petrochemical industry, then in its infancy.
The college became Port Arthur Collegiate Institute in 1911, when the school was presented
to the Board of Education of the Methodist Episcopal Church North, a forerunner of the
present United Methodist Temple. The church operated the growing campus until 1918,
when it was turned over to a non-profit Texas corporation. This corporation had no capital
stock and was overseen by a self-perpetuating board of trustees. The name of the school
was changed back to Port Arthur Business College and finally, in 1932, to Port Arthur
College.
On July 31, 1974, another milestone in the school’s history was reached. W. Sam Monroe,
president of Port Arthur College and a Lamar University regent, presented his fellow members
of the Lamar board a resolution seeking merger of Port Arthur College into Lamar
University. The 21 trustees of the school agreed that the merger would be in the best interests
of both institutions and their constituencies.
The 64th Legislature of the State of Texas authorized the merger and appropriated
$600,000 for creation of the Lamar University Center at Port Arthur. On Aug. 21, 1975, the
trustees presented the deed for Port Arthur College to the Lamar University Board of
Regents. Classes began on the Port Arthur campus on Aug. 28, 1975.
Since the merger in 1975, enrollment increased from 151 students to a peak of more than
3,000 and the curriculum has been expanded to more than 50 areas of study.
In 1977, the 65th Legislature approved House Bill 1134 renaming the campus as Lamar
University-Port Arthur; the “Extension Center” designation was dropped.
In 1983, the 68th Legislature passed three bills which directly affected the college:
- Senate Bill 409 in effect deleted the restrictive language of H.B. 130 (passed in 1971 by
the 63rd Legislature), thereby making Lamar University-Port Arthur eligible, on an equal
basis with other state institutions, for state funds to be utilized in the purchase of land and/or
buildings.
- Senate Bill 410 provided Lamar University regents with the authority to levy a fixed
student fee and the authority to bond against said fee for construction of a student center
building on the Port Arthur campus. This legislation was validated by a majority vote of the
Lamar University-Port Arthur student body in November 1983.
- Senate Bill 620 created the Lamar University System. Lamar University-Port Arthur
thus became a component institution of that system on Aug. 29, 1983.
In 1985, two bills affected the school:
- Senate Bill 578 in 1985 provided that Lamar University-Port Arthur should be renamed
a beneficiary institution and receive funds through the Higher Education Assistance Fund.
- The General Appropriations Act of 1985 directed that a formula be developed by
the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to provide operational funding to Lamar
University-Port Arthur on the same basis as other state-supported institutions of higher
education.
- Senate Bill 78 in 1989 removed restrictions imposed by earlier legislation on the acquisition
of real estate and the construction of facilities on campus.
- Senate Bill 843 in 1991 clarified the issue of degree-granting authority by granting permission
for Lamar University-Port Arthur to issue associate degrees in its own name.
Effective Sept. 1, 1995, by action of the Texas Legislature, the Lamar University System
was abolished and Lamar University-Port Arthur along with sister institutions in Orange and
Beaumont joined The Texas State University System. With offices in Austin, TSUS includes Sam Houston State University,
Texas State University, and Sul Ross State University.
House Bill 1297 was signed into law in June 1999, changing the name of the institution
to Lamar State College-Port Arthur.
Lamar State College - Port Arthur is a member of The Texas State University System and an equal opportunity/affirmative action educational institution
Lamar State College-Port Arthur is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate degrees.
Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of
Lamar State College-Port Arthur.
Normal inquiries about the institution, such as admission requirements, financial aid, educational programs, etc., should be addressed directly to
Lamar State College-Port Arthur and not to the Commission’s office.
The Commission should be contacted only if there is evidence that appears to support an institution’s significant non-compliance with a requirement or
standard of The Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement.
Lamar State College-Port Arthur is a member of the Class of 2013 for Reaffirmation of Accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
The College is approved by the Texas Education Agency for training veterans under all classifications. The College is also a member of or approved by the American Bar
Association, the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, the Texas Certification Board of Addiction Professionals, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the Texas Board of Nursing,
the Accreditation Review Council on Education in Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (ARC/SSTSA), the U.S. Department of Education and the Veterans Administration.
The Lamar State College-Port Arthur campus contains 22 buildings situated on
approximately 40 acres. Most of these facilities were donated for the creation of the
institution. The following is a listing of the institutions and organizations whose facilities
contributed to Lamar State College-Port Arthur: Port Arthur College, the City of Port Arthur,
the Port Arthur College Foundation, Southern Union Gas, the First United Methodist Church
of Port Arthur and Daughters of the American Revolution.
The Fall 2011 enrollment at Lamar State College - Port Arthur was 2,514 credit students and 90 students enrolled in non-credit workforce education courses.
- Degree Plans Designed to Transfer to Four-Year Institutions
Lamar State College-Port Arthur offers general academic courses leading to Associate of Arts and Associate Arts in Teaching degrees. The courses in these degrees are designed to transfer to four-year institutions and include accounting, anthropology, art, biology, business, computer science, chemistry, criminal justice, drama, economics, education, English, geography, geology, government, health, history, home economics, mathematics, music, physical education, physics, psychology, speech, sociology, and Spanish. The College uses the State’s Common Course Numbering System, which has been developed to help receiving institutions easily identify work eligible for transfer and has greatly improved the transfer of course work by students from two-year colleges to universities.
A student can complete two full years of course work and satisfy the majority of the general education requirements for a bachelor’s degree. In most majors, a student can complete virtually all of his or her freshman and sophomore course work in Port Arthur and be fully prepared to move into junior- and senior-level course work at Lamar University in Beaumont or another senior institution.
ASSOCIATE OF ARTS DEGREE:
- ASSOCIATE OF ARTS (EMPHASIS IN ACADEMIC STUDIES)
- ASSOCIATE OF ARTS (EMPHASIS IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION)
- ASSOCIATE OF ARTS (EMPHASIS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE)
- ASSOCIATE OF ARTS (EMPHASIS IN DRAMA)
- ASSOCIATE OF ARTS (EMPHASIS IN KINESIOLOGY)
- ASSOCIATE OF ARTS (EMPHASIS IN STUDIO ART)
- ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE COMMERCIAL MUSIC)
- ASSOCIATE OF ARTS TEACHING
- EMPHASIS IN TEACHING (EC-8)
- EMPHASIS IN TEACHING (EC-12 ART)
- EMPHASIS IN TEACHING (EC-12 THEATER ARTS)
- EMPHASIS IN TEACHING (EC-12 MUSIC)
- EMPHASIS IN TEACHING (EC-12 PHYSICAL EDUCATION)
- Technical Education Programs (not designed for transfer to typical Four-Year programs)
The Technical Programs Division offers a variety of programs in vocational and technical education leading to an Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree or to certificates of varying length. These programs are not designed to transfer to typical four-year institutions and have as their focus providing students with the expertise necessary for employment in today’s complex economy. Qualified instructors, using the latest technology, introduce students to the knowledge and skills that business and industry currently seek in potential employees.
Each A.A.S. degree program also contains a general education component that emphasizes humanities, communication, mathematics skills, and social awareness. These general education courses within the A.A.S. meet transfer-level standards and will, in fact, transfer to four-year institutions.
ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE DEGREE:
- ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE ADMINISTRATION ASSISTANT
- ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE COSMETOLOGY INSTRUCTOR
- ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE COSMETOLOGY OPERATOR
- ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE COMMERCIAL MUSIC-PERFORMANCE (SESSION MUSICIAN)
- ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE COMMERCIAL MUSIC-SOUND ENGINEER
- ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE INSTRUMENTATION TECHNOLOGY
- ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE MEDICAL OFFICE ADMIN
- ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE NETWORK SPECIALIST
- ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE PARALEGAL
- ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE PROCESS TECHNOLOGY
- ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE SOFTWARE DEVELOPER
- ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE SURGICAL TECHNOLOGY
- ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE UPWARD MOBILITY NURSING
Students interested only in gaining basic training in vocational areas can take advantage of several certificate programs offered by the Technical Programs Division. The programs normally can be completed in one calendar year. Students successfully finishing one of these programs should possess the basic skills required for entry-level employment in that particular occupational field.
TECHNICAL CERTIFICATES:
- ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT CERTIFICATE
- AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE TECHNICIAN CERTIFICATE
- AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY CERTIFICATE
- COMPUTER PROGRAMMER CERTIFICATE
- COSMETOLOGY INSTRUCTOR CERTIFICATE
- COSMETOLOGY OPERATOR CERTIFICATE
- ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS CERTIFICATE
- ESTHETICS CERTIFICATE
- MEDICAL OFFICE ASSISTANT CERTIFICATE
- MULTI-MEDIA & DESIGN CERTIFICATE (55+ Program)
- NETWORK SPECIALIST CERTIFICATE
- PROCESS TECHNOLOGY CERTIFICATE
- RECEPTIONIST CERTIFICATE
- SURGICAL TECHNOLOGY CERTIFICATE
- VOCATIONAL NURSING CERTIFICATE
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College Catalog
