South Plains College serves a 15-county area of West Texas which covers more than 13,000 square miles of the southern portion of the Texas High Plains. With Hockley and Lubbock Counties as its hub, the college's service area also includes Bailey, Cochran, Crosby, Dickens, Floyd, Gaines, Garza, Hale, Lamb, Lynn, Motley, Terry and Yoakum counties. The college district is comprised of Hockley County and the Whiteface Independent School District portion of Cochran County.

Known by the early Spanish explorers as the Llano Estacado, this portion of Texas is renown for its wide open vistas, spectacular sunsets, temperate climate, and most of all its friendly people. It is the birthplace of Western Swing music and Buddy Holly rock "n" roll and home to oil field pump jacks, cotton and cattle.

Many people may know the college by its main campus in Levelland, but South Plains College also operates two branch locations in Lubbock and an extension program in Plainview. The college has grown into a multi-campus system with a regional scope and mission to serve the educational and training needs of the South Plains region of Texas. Through our continuing education division and distance learning initiatives, SPC is also providing off-campus courses in a number of other communities in our service area. These convenient campus locations put a community college education close to you.

Levelland Campus

South Plains College's main campus is located in Levelland, Texas, 25 miles due west of Lubbock. Established in 1957 by the residents of Hockley County, South Plains College offers its students a diverse educational program. The program of study on the Levelland Campus spans freshman and sophomore studies for students who plan to eventually earn a bachelor's degree. These classes, offered through the Arts and Sciences Division, parallel those offered by universities and are fully transferable to these schools. First-class technical programs are also available to students who want to obtain specific job skills in one or two years of college and then go right to work in a good-paying job.

SPC is recognized as one of the most modern and complete community colleges in Texas. The Levelland Campus encompasses 40 buildings on a 177-acre campus. Attractively landscaped and maintained, the campus features a contemporary architectural design that enhances an excellent learning environment.

What sets SPC apart from other schools its size are first-rate classroom and laboratory facilities that are specifically designed for each teaching area. SPC students have access to some of the most sophisticated and up-to-date educational and training equipment available. Computer technologies can be found in every instructional area.

Nearly 6,000 students enroll for classes each fall on the college's Levelland Campus. SPC's student body is diverse in its makeup and character. Geographically, about 94 percent of these students come from within a 100-mile radius of Levelland and Lubbock. Being close to family and jobs at home are important to the majority of SPC students who commute to classes. Even with SPC's regional makeup, almost all 50 states and a number of foreign countries are represented.

The age of SPC students is also wide ranging. About three-quarters of all SPC students are traditional college-age. The average age of the student body on the Levelland Campus is 21 years.

SPC teachers are dedicated professionals who first and foremost love to teach and who believe in the community college concept. Faculty members are highly qualified in their fields of study and exhibit a wealth of educational experience they are willing to share with you. An average class size of 25 students assures that you receive a personal education. Faculty members work closely with you to help you gain your academic or technical goals.

A professional counseling staff can help you set your educational goals. If you are undecided about a college major, SPC counselors can help you determine what you like to do and where your talents lie. They are available, along with faculty advisors, to help you plan your college career. The Counseling Center offers a variety of services to help students with special needs.

SPC maintains residence halls for men and women on its Levelland Campus. The residence hall program offers comfortable and economical housing and dining facilities for students who want to live on campus. The college maintains eight residence halls, housing 278 men and 192 women. The Smallwood Apartments, also located on campus, accommodate 96 women.

Student activities, student organizations, intercollegiate athletics, recreational activities and rich college traditions give the Levelland Campus a resident-college flavor.

Reese Center Campus

An extension center of South Plains College, the SPC Reese Center offers a wide range of programs and courses designed to provide academic transfer, technical education, adult and continuing education, workforce development and other specialized training programs in cooperation with the universities, business, industry and the professional medical community of the South Plains area of West Texas.

South Plains College has been providing educational programs in the immediate Lubbock area since 1970 when it first began offering courses at the former Reese Air Force Base. Located off West 4th Street and Research Blvd., the SPC Reese Center offers freshman and sophomore-level college-credit courses in both academic transfer, selected technical programs and workforce development non-credit courses. While a variety of classes are offered during the day, the center maintains an extensive evening class program. This schedule allows Lubbock area students greater flexibility and convenience in taking college courses at night.

The college’s facilities at the Reese Center include seven buildings, including five classroom buildings, SPC Buildings 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8. Evening classes are also held in SPC Building 7 (Reese Elementary School) located on 4th Street. The college maintains administrative and student services offices in SPC Building 8 at 819 Gilbert Drive. Registration takes place in this facility.

The campus enrolls more than 3,500 students each semester in its associate degree and certificate programs. Students, for the most part, are residents of Lubbock or surrounding communities. Many are older adults entering college for the first time to gain marketable job skills.

The 16 technical programs offered at the SPC Reese Center are designed to prepare students for employment in a specific occupation through a prescribed course of study. The college offers technical programs in health occupations, business administration and industrial technology areas. These programs consist of college-level, semester credit hour courses and award either an Associate of Applied Science degree or a Certificate of Proficiency. The programs have been developed by South Plains College faculty members in direct consultation with advisory committees made up of individuals from education, business and industry.

Adult and continuing education programs are available to satisfy the professional and personal interests of area residents. Specialized training programs are offered to business and industry as workforce development needs arise in Lubbock and the South Plains area.

The ACT Center, sponsored jointly by South Plains College and the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance, is located in Reese Building 4 and provides computer laboratory facilities for workforce development training, facilities for high-stakes computer-based licensure and certification exams, and access to over 3,000 online short courses.

South Plains College is committed to assuring student success in college programs through a broad spectrum of support services which include career counseling, testing and skills assessment, computer-aided learning laboratories, and tutoring in basic skills and specific courses. The college also provides special services for persons with disabilities, workforce literacy courses, developmental and remedial programs, English as a second language courses, library and research services and job placement services.

Byron Martin Advanced Technology Center

The Byron Martin Advanced Technology Center (ATC) is a unique educational venture located at 34th and Avenue Q in Lubbock. Involving South Plains College, the Lubbock Independent School District and a number of community partners, the center is designed to deliver cooperative technical education programs to support the development of a skilled technical workforce for Lubbock and the South Plains region.

At the ATC, South Plains College offers college-level technical education programs and courses that focus on business administration, computer technology, machinist trades and automotive technology. Career guidance, counseling, library and tutoring services support the center's instructional efforts.

Through an extensive continuing education and workforce development program, the ATC also serves the training needs of non-traditional students and workers who need to upgrade job skills or retrain for new jobs. The facility enables South Plains College to collaborate with its educational partners to provide rapid response training to attract new business and industry and customized job training to support and retain existing businesses.

The ATC houses more than 87,000 square feet of instructional space and features high-tech computer classrooms with Internet access, a multimedia distance education classroom with satellite downlink capabilities, a multimedia tiered conference room, and multimedia instructional support library with access to online services. Additionally, the facility houses 13 instructional classrooms with multimedia capabilities, a rapid response training area, millwork lab, metals lab, and automotive technology lab. State-of-the-art equipment in all instructional areas provides students with "high-tech, high-touch" instruction and hands-on application of skills.

Many individuals who need certain college classes to advance in their jobs, find these college classes at the Byron Martin Advanced Technology Center.

 

SPC Plainview Extension Center

The South Plains College Plainview Center opened in September 2005 and offers selected technical education programs, academic transfer courses and other workforce development programs. Located at 1920 W. 24th St. in Plainview, Texas, the center is designed to serve the northern tier of the college’s service area through distance education initiatives.

SPC maintains technical programs in cosmetology, vocational nursing and associate degree nursing at the Plainview Center. A variety of college-level general education courses are offered during the evening hours at the center to accommodate the needs of working adults. The center features interactive two-way video classrooms, computer labs and student services offices. College admissions, financial aid, career counseling, testing and skills assessment services are also provided for students.

Adult and continuing education programs are available to meet the workforce development needs of the Plainview community. SPC is committed to creating greater access to educational programs for rural residents through the Plainview Center.

 

Find out more about the college in our online General Catalog.

Alumni - Current Students - Faculty and Staff - Prospective Students - Visitors

 

South Plains College Official Web Site, Copyright © 2001, 2002
E-mail comments or suggestions to info@southplainscollege.edu
Revised: June 2006
1401 S. College Ave., Levelland, TX, 79336 806-894-9611