Dakota County Technical College (DCTC) is a public, two-year technical college in

Rosemount, Minnesota Rosemount is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota County, Minnesota, United States, on the southern edge of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. The population was 25,650 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Rosemount was establi ...

, United States. It is located in

Dakota County Dakota County may refer to: *Dakota County, Minnesota in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of east-central Minnesota *Dakota County, Nebraska Dakota County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of th2020 United States Census the populati ...

inside the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. DCTC belongs to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System and is one of five stand-alone technical colleges in the state.

History and governance

Approved by the 1969

Minnesota State Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decen ...

, Dakota County Technical College started in 1970 with 50 students in three programs. The college's permanent site was a research farm formerly owned and operated by the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

. The main building opened in 1973, offering 30 academic programs to nearly 700 students. At the state level, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System Board of Trustees serves as the college's governing authority. In 2011, the school received a 10-year re-accreditation without conditions from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (NCA-CIHE). The college has had four presidents in its history. David L. Schroeder served from 1970 to 1999. Ronald E. Thomas, Ph.D., was DCTC's president from 1999 to 2013. Tim Wynes, J.D., who also served as president at Inver Hills Community College, led from 2013 to 2018. Starting July 2, 2018, Michael Berndt served as interim president of the two colleges and was confirmed as permanent president of both institutions in March 2020.

Campus setting

The DCTC main campus is located on the outskirts of

, a city of 25,650 about south of

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, the capital of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. The Rosemount campus houses the majority of the college's instructional programs, which are separated into seven academic departments (see below). The college is going forward with a prairie grass and wildflower restoration project on the Rosemount campus that is designed and maintained by faculty and students in the Landscape Horticulture program. DCTC also delivers 10 programs of study in the Business and Management department at the Partners in Higher Education building in Apple Valley Minn., as well as Programming & Development, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Networking, Cisco Networking, Database, IT Foundations, and Web/Graphic Design courses at the IT Training Center in

Eagan, Minnesota Eagan ( ) is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota County, Minnesota. It is south of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul and lies on the south bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from the confluence with the Mississippi River. Eagan and the ...

Academics

The college has 46 instructional programs under eight academic departments: * Administrative Support * Business * Construction and Manufacturing * Health and Education * Marketing and Sales * STEM Careers * Transportation * Visual Arts and Communication * General Education The college's General Education department offers individualized studies, general education and transfer curriculum, Minnesota transfer curriculum, and developmental education courses. Awards offered by DCTC include certificates, diplomas, A.S. degrees and A.A.S. degrees.

Notable programs

Nanoscience Technology

* This program prepares students for careers in the nanobiotech, nanomaterials and nanoelectronics industries. Offered through a partnership with the University of Minnesota, the program gives graduates the skills and knowledge to land jobs in companies and corporations applying nanotechnology to product development, testing, research and development, and manufacturing design. * The National Science Foundation awarded Dakota County Technical College a $3 million grant to develop the Midwest Regional Center for Nanotechnology Education, or Nano-Link. Situated on DCTC's Rosemount campus, Nano-Link will work to create a skilled workforce of nanotechnologists to enhance economic growth in nanoscale science and technology. The center builds on the success of DCTC's pioneering Nanoscience Technology program, which was established in partnership with the University of Minnesota to prepare graduates for employment in the abundant array of industries where nanoscience applications are rapidly emerging. * DCTC Nanoscience Technology students, working to promote nano and their program, founded a Web site called Nanostudents.com.

Railroad Conductor Technology

* Featuring a quarter-mile track on campus, the Railroad Conductor Technology program offers a 15-week certificate that includes an eight-week off-campus internship with a railroad. Industry partners include: **

Twin Cities and Western Railroad The Twin Cities and Western Railroad is a railroad operating in the U.S. state of Minnesota which started operations on July 27, 1991. Trackage includes the former Soo Line Railroad The Soo Line Railroad is the primary United States railroad ...

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

Red River Valley and Western Railroad Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

** Canadian Pacific Railway **

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN ...

Progressive Rail Progressive Rail Inc. is a shortline railroad and owner of several other shortlines. PGR is directly operating several separate branches in Minnesota including the Airlake Terminal Railway. Progressive Rail also acquired the Wisconsin Northern ...

** Minnesota Commercial Railway **

Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad The Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad is a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Before its purchase, it was the largest Class II railroad in the United States, operating across South Dakota and southern Minnesota in ...

** Northern Plains Railroad **

Northern Lines Railway Northern Lines Railway is a shortline railroad operating of track in and near St. Cloud in central Minnesota. The railroad was formed in 2004 to operate Burlington Northern Santa Fe trackage in and near the St. Cloud area and started operations ...

Business Entrepreneur

* Instructor Bob Voss received the

National Association of Community College Entrepreneurship National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

(NACCE) Faculty Member of the Year award in 2008. Associate Dean Christine Pigsley was awarded a $3,600 grant from the

Coleman Foundation Coleman may refer to: Places Antarctica * Coleman Glacier (Antarctica) * Coleman Peak, Ross Island Canada * Coleman, Alberta * Coleman, Ontario * Coleman, Prince Edward Island United Kingdom * Coleman, Leicester, England United States * Co ...

and Business Entrepreneur student Mary Glock won ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''/NACCE Student Essay Contest that same year. The program is housed at the Institute for Business, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, which serves as a resource for business education, small-business support, continuing education and customized training for the southern

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in sta ...

metropolitan area.

Interior Design

* Connected to professional organizations such as the

American Society of Interior Designers The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes the profession of interior design. It has chapters throughout the United States and Canada. Throughout all of the associatio ...

(ASID), International Furnishings and Design Association (IFDA), International Interior Design Association (IIDA), National Executive Women in Hospitality (NEWH) and the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA), the Interior Design program is taught by instructors with recognized industry experience.

Landscape Horticulture

* Landscape Horticulture is the only program of its kind in

nationally accredited by the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET). The program also works with the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association (MNLA), allowing students more opportunities to become MNLA Certified Professionals. The program recently constructed a modern, glass-paned greenhouse with solar heating and computerized controls.

Customized training

Partnering with more than 100 area businesses and industries, DCTC offers customized continuing education in a number of areas. In a typical year, more than 6,000 students are enrolled in the college's Customized Training programs. Some noteworthy training projects include: ;Business and Management *

Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...

: $263,945 grant for supervisory management training2007-2008 Customized Training Summary
/ref> * Amerilab Technologies: $309,411 grant for multicultural supervisory training ;IT/Computer Technology *

Prometric Prometric, also known as Prometric Testing, is a U.S.-based company in the test administration industry. Its corporate headquarters is located in Canton (Baltimore, Maryland) in the United States. Prometric operates a test center network composed ...

Training Center: DCTC's IT Training Center delivers

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

exams for technology vendors such as Oracle Corporation, Sun Microsystems and

CompTIA The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is an American non-profit trade association that issues professional certifications for the information technology (IT) industry. It is considered one of the IT industry's top trade associ ...

;Manufacturing * Foldcraft: $300,000 grant for operational excellence training in manufacturing along with other instruction * Urologix: $189,000 grant for two-pronged competency training that included pilot and train-the-trainer programs ;Public Safety * Trained and endorsed 1,200 motorcycle riders in 2007 * Trained 600

police officers A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

in emergency vehicle operations, basic and advanced pursuit, and P.I.T. in 2007 * Trained 200 firefighters and

emergency medical technicians An emergency medical technician (EMT), also known as an ambulance technician, is a health professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found working in ambulances. In English-speaking countries, paramedics are ...

in emergency response driving proficiency skills in 2007 ;Transportation * 151 out of 153 (98.6 percent) students passed Truck Driver Training program and earned Class A

Commercial Driver's License A commercial driver's license (CDL) is a driver's license required in the United States to operate large and heavy vehicles (including trucks, buses, and trailers) or a vehicle of any size that transports hazardous materials or more than 15 p ...

(CDL) * Multimillion-dollar facility includes observation deck, three TDT exercise yards and an enclosed, three-mile (5 km) decision driving track

Research

In 2008, DCTC received a $3 million grant from the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...

to develop the Midwest Regional Center for Nanotechnology Education (Nano-Link) on the DCTC campus.Dakota County Technical College Earns $3M Grant for Nano-Link
/ref> Deb Newberry, the director of the college's Nanoscience Technology program, was appointed to head Nano-Link, which provides resources and support to colleges delivering nanotechnology education and research throughout a five-state region. Six two-year colleges in

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

and

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

partnered to develop this center.

Athletics

Sports programs at DCTC include Women's and Men's soccer: *Head coach: Mark Obarski *Both soccer teams compete as independents at the

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

Div. I level in Region 13. *All home games are played on the DCTC main campus in Rosemount, at the Ames Soccer Complex, which was constructed through a partnership between the college and the city of Rosemount with an in-kind donation from Ames Construction. Women's Fastpitch Softball: *Head coach: Tom Cross *Fastpitch softball competes as an independent at the

Div. III level in Region 13. Men's Baseball: *Head coach: Matt Erzar *Baseball competes as an independent at the

Div. II level in Region 13. Men's Basketball: *Head coach: Kelly Boe *Inaugural season: Fall 2011 *Men's basketball will compete as an independent at the

Div. II level in Region 13. Women's Volleyball: *Head coach: Jen Bowman *Inaugural season: Fall 2011 *Women's volleyball will compete as an independent at the

Div. II level in Region 13.

Campus life

DCTC has a range of student organizations and clubs under the college's Student Life umbrella. Headed by a six-member executive board, the Student Senate manages a budget that funds social activities, scholarships and charitable projects. The Multicultural Student Leadership Organization, DCTC Campus

Lions Club The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois, by Melvin Jones. It is now headquartere ...

Phi Theta Kappa Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society ( or PTK) is the international honor society of students attending open-access institutions and seeking associate degrees, bachelor's degrees, or other college credentials. Its headquarters is in Jackson, Mississippi ...

and

SkillsUSA SkillsUSA is a United States career and technical student organization serving more than 395,000 high school, college and middle school students and professional members enrolled in training programs in trade, technical and skilled service occu ...

are all active on campus.

Notable alumni

* Derek Chauvin - former Minneapolis police officer and convicted murderer, known for his role in the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's ...

References

External links

Official website

Official athletics website
{{authority control Community colleges in Minnesota Educational institutions established in 1970 1970 establishments in Minnesota Education in Dakota County, Minnesota Buildings and structures in Dakota County, Minnesota NJCAA athletics Two-year colleges in the United States