In the fall of 1997, the DCCCD appointed a district committee, the Core Curriculum Committee, composed primarily of faculty, to establish a new core curriculum, in keeping with the established guidelines of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). Every college of the DCCCD was represented on this committee. During the course of three semesters, the Core Curriculum Committee conducted three rounds of campus hearings (eight in all), using e-mail to disseminate information to and solicit feedback from faculty, staff, and students. Because of the efforts of the Committee, more than two hundred faculty, staff, and students responded to the proposal which resulted in the DCCCD Core Curriculum. Discussions were driven by the questions, "What do our students need to know to be successful in the next decade?" and "What must our students know and be able to do to perform successfully when they transfer?" In December 2000, the slightly modified DCCCD Core Curriculum received Coordinating Board approval.

In Fall 1999, the DCCCD Core Evaluation Committee was convened. The charge of this committee was to evaluate the DCCCD Core Curriculum and to make recommendations for ongoing assessment and evaluation of the Core. This committee, also composed primarily of faculty, reviewed the newly developed Core for compliance and made recommendations to administrative and faculty groups to insure successful implementation and ongoing evaluation of the Core. Again, during this process, hearings were held at multiple locations and more than one hundred faculty, staff, and students were involved in the process.

In Fall 2003, the Core Curriculum Evaluation Coordinating Team, a district committee comprised of the faculty, academic administrators, and institutional researchers, was convened to review the core curriculum and develop the district plan for assessing learning outcomes for 2004-2009. The district plan to assess student learning outcomes is a compilation of seven college plans to assess student learning and to evaluate Core learning outcomes for 2004-2009. The district evaluation committee will review and compile the student learning outcome and other college evaluation data to make recommendations about the core. The Core Curriculum Evaluation Coordinating Team membership consisted of college committee co-chairs from each of the seven colleges, the district researcher, a college researcher, and a district administrator assigned by the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Educational Affairs. This steering team was charged with supporting the development of the learning outcome evaluation plans for the seven colleges, supporting needed staff development activities, and monitoring matters pertaining to the Core including student completion rates, student transfer issues, student learning outcomes, and proposed changes. This team reported regularly to the Vice Presidents Council, apprising the council of the work of the various college committees.