Community members joined officials from Lone Star College System on Jan. 11 to celebrate the grand opening of the college system’s newest facility, Westway Park Technology Center, at 5060 Westway Park Blvd., Houston.

The new 133,000-square-foot campus features Cisco, cybersecurity, programming and visual communications classrooms and several training labs that mimic real-world environments with up-to-date equipment, Lone Star College-CyFair President Seelpa Keshvala said. LSCS already offers several certifications and associate of applied science programs in IT and visual communications.

Officials said curriculum aligns with workforce needs to prepare students for relevant careers. Corporate training for area businesses will also be supported at the new campus.

Chancellor Stephen Head said this project was the third of five workforce centers included in LSCS’s $485 million bond passed in 2014.

New legislation passed by the 85th Texas Legislature allowed the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to authorize certain public junior colleges to offer certain bachelor’s degrees, and LSCS pursued a bachelor of applied technology degree to be offered at LSC-CyFair.

Administrators are in the process of securing approval to offer a BAT degree in cybersecurity, which could happen as soon as 2019. Once the degree is available, the four-year degree would cost less than $10,000, according to officials.

Learn more about the new campus at www.lonestar.edu/westway-center.