Students are enrolled in fewer courses at Lone Star College System this spring semester than they were a year ago after LSCS facilities sustained $34 million in damage due to Hurricane Harvey in August.

Systemwide, the number of credit hours—which determine how much a student pays in tuition—has decreased 2 percent while the number of contact hours—the amount of time a student spends in the classroom for each course—has decreased 3 percent, according to LSCS enrollment reports.

Because of this decrease in credit hours, LSCS’s revenue from tuition and fees—which provides about 33 percent of its total revenue—is down $3 million, LSCS Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Mott said. However, she said, because the state funds LSCS in two-year cycles, the decrease in contact hours will not affect state funding. LSCS Chancellor Stephen Head said state funding makes up about 22 percent of LSCS’s total revenue.

Most of the decreases are due to flooding at Lone Star College-Kingwood, which sustained more damage than any other of LSCS’s five main campuses during Hurricane Harvey, officials said. The number of students enrolled at LSC-Kingwood in the spring semester has decreased 2 percent since last year, while credit and contact hours each decreased 13 percent, according to LSCS enrollment reports.

Six of the campus’ main buildings are undergoing renovations, LSC-Kingwood President Katherine Persson said. To make up for this, most classes have been moved to other LSCS sites or online, she said.

Persson said the campus—which normally has 113 classrooms—will have 40 classrooms open in August and will fully reopen in January.

The limited classroom space at LSC-Kingwood has led to a 7 percent increase in the number of students taking online courses within LSCS, Head said.

LSC-University Park experienced the most significant enrollment increase in the college system this spring. The number of students taking classes at LSC-UP increased 5 percent, while contact hours increased 4 percent, according to LSCS reports.

LSC-UP President Shah Ardalan said flood damage at LSC-UP was isolated to the campus’ new Center for Science and Innovation, which delayed its opening from August to January. About two-thirds of the building’s ground floor flooded with 12 inches of water, causing approximately $1.2 million in damage.

At its meeting on Feb. 1, the LSCS board of trustees approved $1.1 million of restoration and flood mitigation work for the center.

Ardalan said the distance between the campus and LSC-Kingwood—27 miles—means LSC-UP was only minimally affected by the limited classroom space at the flooded campus.