Administrator's Statement

​The Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD) was established in 1965 and now includes seven separately accredited colleges, a center for educational telecommunications and distance learning, and an economic development institute. In addition, five community campuses have opened to serve students in areas that have been underserved. DCCCD is one of the largest community college systems in the state. Academic, vocational/technical, remedial and personal development programs are provided to some 80,000 (Fall 2017) credit enrolled students and to an additional 21,000 (Fall 2017) students enrolled in continuing education/non-credit courses. In addition, the District has 17,000 Dual Credit students (Fall 2017).

FUNDING REQUEST

Dallas County Community College District respectfully supports the $1.9 billion formula funding request submitted by the Texas Association of Community Colleges (TACC) in its letter dated July 24, 2018. The District believes that the state should continue its investment in community colleges by continuing the funding strategy utilized in the last two legislative sessions and appropriated through three strategies:

• Base District Allocation
• Student Success Point Funding Allocation
• Contact Hour Funding Reimbursement Allocation

With additional support from the State of Texas, Dallas County Community College District will make the following investments:

• Expansion of Dual Credit programs, serving an additional 6,500 students
• Startup of 31 Early College High Schools with DISD that will serve 4,300 students each year during the 2020-21 biennium and over 5,000 students annually in the following biennium. These students attend our colleges tuition free. For the 2020-21 biennium, this is estimated to cost the District $14 million in waived tuition and in the 2022-23 biennium, over $20 million in waived tuition.
• The startup of an Early Childhood Education baccalaureate degree in FY 2019. The first baccalaureate degree offered by DCCCD. This as mandated by the legislature to meet the critical demand of Early Childhood Education teachers in Dallas County.
• Small Business Innovation Center that will assist over 200 new small businesses get started, creating 700 jobs and over $16 million in sales.
• Addition of critical programs in high demand fields of Allied Health, Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Construction trades and Welding.
• Development of a robust student resource management system linking community based organizations and other public resources with college student services to holistically meet needs of disadvantaged, underserved students to increase completion rates and acquisition of living wage employment.

OVERVIEW

The colleges of the DCCCD are geographically located within a short driving distance from any resident's home or place of employment within Dallas County. Classes leading to a two-year degree or vocational certificate are also available via distance education classes, thus enabling residents to study off-site. The names of the colleges and specialized centers, opening dates, and portion of the county generally served are listed below in order of their opening:

COLLEGES

• El Centro College, serving the downtown business district, West Dallas and portions of South Dallas. El Centro became the flagship college of the District by being the first college to open its doors. Its central location allows for students from all parts of Dallas County to take advantage of core educational and transferable courses, as well as career training in more than 50 fields of study. – 1966
• Eastfield College, located in eastern Dallas County, serves Mesquite, South Garland, Balch Springs, Pleasant Grove, Kleberg, East Dallas and a portion of the Southern Dallas region – 1970
• Mountain View College, serves a unique mix of urban, suburban and industrial communities of the southwest quadrant of the city. Mountain View serves Grand Prairie, DeSoto, Duncanville, and portions of West and South Dallas – 1970
• Richland College, is the largest of DCCCD’s seven colleges. The White House and the Department of Education named Richland College a recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award, the only community college in the United Sates to receive this award. Richland serves North Garland, Richardson, and Northeast Dallas – 1972
• Cedar Valley College, serving Lancaster, Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Seagoville, Wilmer Hutchins and portions of South Dallas. Cedar Valley College’s signature programs include veterinary technology, automotive technology, performing arts, logistics and sustainability programs. –1977
  
• North Lake College, serving Irving, Coppell, South Carrollton, Grand Prairie, and Northwest Dallas. Key programs at North Lake College include, construction technology, logistics, the sciences and the colleges unique pairing of arts and technology. – 1977
• Brookhaven College, serving Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Addison and Northwest Dallas. Brookhaven College was one of 6 out of 635 higher educational institutions to win the 2008 Presidents Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. This is the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement. – 1978

COMMUNITY CAMPUSES

• North Lake College North Campus opened in 2008
• North Lake College South Campus opened in 2009
• Eastfield College Pleasant Grove Campus opened in 2009
• El Centro College West Campus opened in 2008
• Richland College Garland Campus opened in 2009

The Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development, serving all of Dallas County through the North Texas Small Business Development Center, which is a partnership between DCCCD and the U.S. Small Business Administration to serve the needs of established and start-up businesses. Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, small business development centers, short-term job training and on-site employee training – 1989

The R. Jan LeCroy Center for Educational Telecommunications, serving all of Dallas County (and the rest of Texas and the United States) through television and electronic instructional delivery systems – 1991. DCCCD originally established an instructional television center in 1972, and by 1973 had produced its first tele course. The LeCroy Center also has the STARLINK Program. This is an exceptional professional development for higher education communities. STARLINK provides programs for the U.S., Canada and the world through the U.S. embassies and the military.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

There are seven members of the DCCCD Board of Trustees elected from single member districts in Dallas County. Each trustee is elected to a six-year term. Terms are staggered, with elections being held in even-numbered years. Two trustees had terms expiring in 2018 and all chose to run for re-election and were reelected.

PROVISIONS OF SERVICE

There are changes in the provision of services and the DCCCD continues to increase its partnerships with local entities.

• DCCCD continues to work with the Dallas Independent School District in the establishment of what are now 31 Early College High School or P-Tech programs, representing 4,300 students.
• DCCCD also partners with 7 other ISDs in Dallas County offering Early College High School Programs representing an additional 800 students.
• In 2018, DCCCD partnered with the Dallas County Promise, which is an innovative transformational effort between school districts, DCCCD and universities to increase college completion. This Fall 2018, DCCCD will enroll 2,200 new Promise students in our colleges.
• There continues to be increased emphasis on distance education and use of technology for instruction (online instruction). As of Fall 2017, DCCCD has over 30,000 distance learning students.
• Enrollment in dual credit courses continues to increase through the cooperation of independent school districts, private schools, charter schools, and limited home-schools.
• The Richland Collegiate High School opened at Richland College in August 2006 and has graduated eleven classes of students, most of whom received their associate degrees and diplomas at the same time. In Fall 2010 the high school expanded to include an additional area of emphasis in the arts to the current emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math. For the 2016-2017 academic year, Richland Collegiate High School had and enrollment of almost 1,000 students.
• All 7 of the Colleges of DCCCD are majority minority serving institutions.

EXTERNAL IMPACTS

• The population of Dallas County continues to grow and the 2018 estimate reflects both overall growth and a larger minority population. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the Dallas-Fort Worth area had the largest increase in population than any metro area in the United States this past year with 146,000 new residents.
• The DCCCD supports initiatives for achieving the goals of the 60X30TX program initiated by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
• The colleges continue to enroll expanding numbers of under-prepared students who do not qualify for initial enrollment in college-level courses.
• The colleges continue to expand courses for work force students and partners in the local economy to provide workers with the skills needed for employment.

SPECIAL ITEM REQUESTS

Two Special Item requests have been submitted with this packet.

Special Item Request 1 Funding of STARLINK—STARLINK provides training, instruction and information to Texas Community and technical Colleges and other institutions through the production, acquisition and delivery of online programming services. This service provides an economical means of offering professional development to the state’s community colleges as well as other institutions. Without the same funding, services will likely have to be curtailed. If funding for STARLINK does not continue, the major source of faculty professional development from renowned experts would be lost. This is especially important to rural colleges with limited professional development budgets. Professional Development is a SACS requirement. Since STARLINK’s inception, thousands of programs, courses, webinars and teleconferences have been produced and delivered. Last year, over 17,000 faculty and administrators used STARLINK professional development training.

Special Item Request 2 Funding of SBDC—Small Business Development Center provides training for small business owners, thus helping to improve the economic conditions of the state as small business owners become successful. The mission of the North Texas Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is to accelerate the North Texas economy by helping entrepreneurs grow sustainable businesses. The SBDC conducts research, counsels and trains businesses in managing, financing and operating small businesses, providing comprehensive information services and access in a variety of fields. The network of professionals span across 49 counties in North Texas assisting various business segments at every stage of development.

BACKGROUND CHECKS

Background checks are conducted on all security-sensitive positions as permitted by the Texas Government Code, Sec. 411.094 and Texas Education Code, Section 61.003 (8), and consistent with the District’s human resources policies and procedures.