This story is part of our Annual Community Guide, which takes a look at some of the biggest stories to watch in Cy-Fair and Harris County in 2019. Stay tuned through Wednesday, Jan. 23, as we countdown to the No. 1 story to watch this year.

What we reported

Construction progressed throughout 2018 on Lone Star College System’s new- est project—Westway Park Technology Center at 5060 Westway Park Blvd., Houston. Information Technology and visual communications courses offered at the new 133,000-square-foot campus will mimic real world environments with up-to-date equipment. The college system already offers several associate of applied science programs in these fields. New legislation passed by the 85th Texas Legislature allowed the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to authorize certain public junior colleges to o er certain bachelor’s degrees, and LSCS pursued a Bachelor of Applied Technology degree to be offered at LSC-CyFair.

The latest

Westway Park Technology Center celebrated a grand opening Jan. 11 and offers Cisco, cybersecurity, programming and visual communications classrooms, and several training labs. LSCS 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. 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.