NOV
LCCC improves academic offerings to better help students’ long-term goals
CHEYENNE, WYOMING – Following several months of extensive research, discussion and consideration, Laramie County Community College will restructure significant aspects of its academic offerings to better serve its students.
“LCCC is focused on providing clear, coherent pathways for students, ones that lead them to meaningful opportunities when they graduate from LCCC, hopefully right here in Wyoming,” LCCC President Dr. Joe Schaffer said. “We’ve discovered that by offering too many options with too many forks in the road, we actually hinder students’ ability to complete a credential and succeed.”
One example is natural sciences. Currently, LCCC offers ten separate concentrations related to natural sciences, but with minimal distinctions among them. With the new format, students can now choose from three distinct natural science degrees: biology, physical sciences, or pre-professional. This change will result in minimal impact to LCCC students and the courses being offered, while still providing the high quality educational experience that previous students received.
“We’ve developed clearly outlined programs that align with educational opportunities and careers. This allows us to provide individualized plans for those students with a defined interest and gives other students the chance to explore options within a program,” said Kari Brown-Herbst, the interim vice president of academic affairs at LCCC.
Changes to these academic offerings mean that some programs and concentrations will be suspended and some will be closed, also referred to as “hiatus” and “deactivation.” Even in programs affected by this change of status, LCCC will continue to offer the necessary courses — such as English and mathematics —that will allow students to transfer to a four-year school in their field.
“We will still provide a path for students’ educational goals, whether that’s to complete a bachelor’s degree at UW or to enter the workforce. But with constrained resources and constrained state funding, LCCC has to decide how many unique programs we can sustain to best serve our students and the community,” Schaffer said.
Students impacted by these programmatic changes will be notified this week about steps that LCCC is taking to assist them in continuing their education. All will have the opportunity to complete their programs.
No employees will lose their job due to these changes.
These structural changes are part of a larger institutional transformation at LCCC, called Guided Pathways. Guided Pathways is a model for redesigning the entire college to improve the student experience and to help students succeed at higher rates. Complete details will be shared in the coming months.
Frequently Asked Questions
In total, 34 programs will see changes to their status. The following chart lists the programs and those changes:
Program |
Status Change |
|
Deactivation |
Hiatus |
|
| Accounting | X | |
| Agriculture – Agroecology Concentration | X | |
| Business Management – Entrepreneurship Business Plan | X | |
| CIS - Computer Support Specialist | X | |
| CIS - Office Application Specialist | X | |
| CIS - Web Design | X | |
| Computer Science – Business Concentration | X | |
| Criminal Justice – Law Enforcement | X | |
| Cybersecurity Fundamentals | X | |
| Cybersecurity Professional | X | |
| Education – Early Childhood Education | X | |
| English | X | |
| Equine Science – Business Management Concentration | X | |
| History | X | |
| History – Digital History Concentration | X | |
| Mass Media | X | |
| Mass Media – Multimedia Concentration | X | |
| Mathematics | X | |
| Music – Instrumental Education Concentration | X | |
| Music – Instrumental Performance Concentration | X | |
| Music – Vocal Education Concentration | X | |
| Music – Vocal Performance Concentration | X | |
| Natural Science – Chemistry (BA Track) Concentration | X | |
| Natural Science – Human Biology Concentration | X | |
| Natural Science – Molecular Biology Concentration | X | |
| Natural Science – Physics Concentration | X | |
| Natural Science – Physiology Concentration | X | |
| Natural Science – Wildlife Biology Concentration | X | |
| Natural Science – Zoology Concentration | X | |
| Psychology (AA) | X | |
| Psychology – Social Work Concentration | X | |
| Spanish – Education Concentration | X | |
| Spanish – Liberal Arts Concentration | X | |
| Technical Agriculture Operations | X | |
Hiatus means that the program will be temporarily placed in a suspended state, where new students are not able to enroll in the program. This allows time to further examine the demand and need for the program, and to allow for program changes or redesign if it is deemed still viable.
Deactivation means that the college will permanently close the program. Students will no longer be able to enroll in the program, and LCCC does not plan to bring the program back—in any format—for the foreseeable future.
In both cases, LCCC is committed to helping students currently in these programs complete their degrees or certifications.
Considerable analysis, discourse, and effort have gone into making these decisions, which are grounded in what LCCC believes is best for students and student success. Generally, the rationale for the changes in program status included one or more of the following elements:
- Historically low program enrollments
- Low persistence or completion rates
- Limited ability as a stand-alone credential to secure living-wage career placement
- Lack of alignment with four-year transfer partners that are realistic pathways for students
- Authenticity/uniqueness of the degree program when compared to similar programs at LCCC (e.g., few courses differentiating them)
Active students currently enrolled in these credential programs will have the opportunity to finish their programs and complete the degree or certification. Please refer to the correspondence you received from LCCC for more complete information.
It's imperative that students work with their academic advisor to develop an appropriate plan of action moving forward. Your advisor will help plan a course schedule or change your program plan to ensure you have the opportunity to take the appropriate courses as they are offered in the coming semesters.
The Advising Center is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For the holidays, campus will close Nov. 27-Dec. 1 and Dec. 24-Jan. 1. To schedule an appointment, call the Advising Center at 307.778.1214.
LCCC will continue to provide academic opportunities for those students declaring an interest in the areas formerly served by the impacted programs. These options are embedded in the newly established institutional structure (called Guided Pathways) that allows for focused exploration of areas of interest and the development of individualized academic plans to serve the student's career or transfer goals.
For future students, members of the admissions team and the advising team will provide assistance and guidance to help determine the appropriate pathway for you to reach your career aspirations and education goals.
If you are an eligible student who started your degree or certification in one of these programs, LCCC will provide you correspondence with important information about completing your degree. Non-active students who had chosen the impacted programs when they enrolled will be allowed to come back to LCCC and finish their programs if they enroll for the spring semester of 2020.
It's imperative that students work with an academic advisor to develop an appropriate plan of action moving forward. The advisor will help plan a course schedule or change your program plan to ensure you take the appropriate courses.
The Advising Center is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For the holidays, campus will close Nov. 27-Dec. 1 and Dec. 24-Jan. 1. To schedule an appointment, call the Advising Center at 307.778.1214.
Transfer agreements will continue to remain in effect between LCCC and other institutions
going forward. Students that complete the necessary requirements of the current programmatic
structure will continue to have the opportunity to transfer to another institution.
Transfer agreements vary from program to program, so please work with your advisor
or the Advising Center to develop an appropriate plan for a successful transfer.
The Advising Center is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For the holidays, campus will close Nov. 27-Dec. 1 and Dec. 24-Jan. 1. To schedule an appointment, call the Advising Center at 307.778.1214.
For a complete list of all of LCCC's academic offerings, visit lccc.wy.edu/pathways. There you'll see the seven major Pathways; by clicking on any of these, you will find a breakdown of the areas of study within the Pathway itself.
The following is a comprehensive list of LCCC's areas of study for 2020-2021.
Ag Production Technology
Agriculture, Agroecology
Agriculture, Rangeland Ecology and Management
Agriculture & Equine
Agriculture, Agriculture Business
Agriculture, Animal Science Concentration
Art
Automotive Body Repair
Automotive Technology
Automotive Technology, Engine Management/Drivability
Automotive Technology, Under Car/HVAC
Biology
Business & Accounting
Business, Accounting Services
Business, Entrepreneurship
Business, Financial Services
Business, Small Business Management
Business, Supply Chain Management
CIS, Datacenter Technician
CIS, Systems Administrator
Cisco Certified Networking Associate
Communication & Creative Arts
Computer Information Systems
Computer Science
Criminal Justice
Cybersecurity
Dental Hygiene
Diagnostic Medical Sonography
Diesel Technology
Electrical Technician
Elementary/Early Childhood Education
Emergency Medical Services
Emergency Medical Services, Paramedic
Engineering Science
Equine Science
Equine Training
Equine Training Management
Exercise Science
Exercise Science, Coaching
Exercise Science, Personal Trainer
Exercise Science, Physical Education Teacher Education
Exercise Science, Sport Management
Fire Science Technology
Health Information Technology
Health Information Technology, Medical Claims Coding
Health Sciences & Wellness
Heating, Ventilation, AC/Refrigeration
Human & Public Services
Industrial Maintenance
Industrial Systems Technology
Medical Office Essentials
Music
Nursing
Paralegal
Physical Sciences
Physical Therapist Assistant
Plumbing Technology
Pre-Medical Professional Studies
Psychology
Radiography
Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
Secondary Education
Speech Language Pathology Assistant
Surgical Technology
Theatre
Trades & Technical Studies
Welding Technology
Welding Technology, Advanced Pipe Welding
Welding Technology, Combination Welding
Wind Energy
Guided Pathways is a model for redesigning the entire college to improve the student experience and to help students succeed at higher rates. To help students navigate their educational and career goals, LCCC has organized its programs and courses into seven Pathways. These communities of interest are designed to help students match educational and career goals with specific program paths at LCCC, helping improve connections with other students, faculty and the community.
Additional information can be found at lccc.wy.edu/pathways.
If you're a current, past or prospective student with any questions about how these changes impact your LCCC education, please contact your advisor or another member of the advising team.
The Advising Center is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For the holidays, campus will close Nov. 27-Dec. 1 and Dec. 24-Jan. 1. To schedule an appointment, call 307.778.1214.