Lamar Community College is open for business! While we were not "physically" on campus for the last couple months of the spring semester- we never stopped our instruction and service to our students. This summer we will begin a phased re-opening of our campus. As always, the safety of our students, faculty, staff, and community is of utmost importance to us. We appreciate the patience and endurance everyone has shown through the COVID-19 pandemic and with our change in operations and processes. We cannot wait to have everyone on campus once again! We miss our Lopes!

We are open to serve students from all backgrounds and ethnicities. One thing I love about Lamar Community College are the diverse backgrounds we see in our students, faculty, and staff. We do not condone injustice or racism on our campus. We also believe our actions speak louder than our words, so we are actively taking steps internally to continue to foster equity and inclusion when our Lopes return to campus. By creating meaningful conversations on mutual respect and caring for one another, LCC stands ready to be a catalyst in our community for powerful change. We hope these actions will cause a ripple effect that will reach far beyond our campus and help all in our community to feel welcome and appreciated. As educators, "community" is at the very core of our mission and our vision to provide equal opportunities for all to learn and advance their lives in an accepting, welcoming, safe, and inclusive environment.

We are open for fall registration and our faculty and staff stand ready to serve you via our online and remote services while we are going through our phased re-opening in June and July. I encourage students and parents to reach out to us if they have questions or need assistance to apply for admission or register for classes. Please visit our website lamarcc.edu to get started today. Fall classes begin August 24th and if students register before July 1, they will be entered to win one of four $500 scholarships!

We are open with new site locations. This fall we are opening additional locations to serve our communities, expanding our capacity to serve students in Prowers, Baca, Cheyenne, and Kiowa counties by creating Distance Learning sites in addition to our campus in Lamar. These sites are in Eads, Granada and Springfield. Classes will be offered at these distance learning sites, and students at those sites will be able to choose between participating in classes on location or from home. Online discussion and assignments will supplement both learning options, and students will receive face-to-face support in-person or by video services from both their instructor as well as LCC Student Support Services.

We are open for nursing students. Exciting news! For this fall only, the LCC Nursing department is not requiring an admission test as a requirement for admission to the program. Students still have to complete all pre-requisites with a GPA of 2.5 or higher. If you have any questions, please visit our nursing page on our website.

We are open for our new Bridge to Bachelor's Degree program. The Colorado Community College System (CCCS) has announced the launch of a new, guaranteed admission program called the Bridge to Bachelor's Degree. Under new agreements signed by CCCS and several Colorado universities, new, first-time CCCS students pursuing an associate degree will receive guaranteed admission and a more affordable, seamless pathway to a four-year university to achieve their bachelor's degree. Our students who choose this path can save an average of $10,000 by completing their associate degree at LCC before transferring to one of our partner universities. We are proud to offer this program to our students and we stand ready to assist them with admission and registration to get started.

LCC and CCCS students who participate in the Bridge to Bachelor's Degree program will have access to:

• Personalized student advising and guidance to ensure credits and administrative supports are in place to easily transfer to a desired four-year program.
• Scholarship opportunities to make degrees from a four-year institution more attainable and affordable.
• A no-hassle transfer process between participating two-year and four-year programs, ensuring a smooth transition.
• We are open and ready to serve our students and communities as we have since 1937. Together we are #LopesStrong. I can hardly wait to see everyone on campus in August!

Dr. Linda Lujan

President, Lamar Community College