Dallas College is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

with seven campuses in

Dallas County, Texas Dallas County is the second-most populous county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 2,613,539, making it the ninth-most populous county in the country. Dallas County is included in the Dallas-Arlington ...

. It serves more than 70,000 students annually in degree-granting,

continuing education Continuing education (similar to further education in the United Kingdom and Ireland) is an all-encompassing term within a broad list of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada. ...

, and adult education programs. Dallas College offers

associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. Th ...

and career/technical certificate programs in more than 100 areas of study as well as a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in education. It is one of the largest community college systems in Texas.

History

Dallas College was founded as the Dallas County Junior College District in 1965, and became known as the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD) in 1972. The first campus,

Dallas College El Centro Campus Dallas College El Centro Campus (El Centro or ECC) is a public community college in Dallas, Texas. It is part of Dallas College. The campus is located at 801 Main Street in downtown Dallas, in the former Sanger Harris department store ...

downtown Dallas Downtown Dallas is the central business district (CBD) of Dallas, Texas, United States, located in the geographic center of the city. It is the second-largest business district in the state of Texas. The area termed "Downtown" has traditionally ...

, was established in 1966. Dr. Bill J. Priest served as the founding chancellor from 1965 until his retirement in 1981. In 2020, the Dallas County Community College District renamed the district to Dallas College, while each campus kept its name.

District and service area

As defined by the

Texas Legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful a ...

, the official service area of Dallas College includes the following: *all of Dallas County, and *all territory included in the

Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District (CFBISD) is a school district based in Carrollton, Texas, United States. The district covers most of the cities of Carrollton and Farmers Branch and parts of Addison, Coppell, Dallas, an ...

(a portion of which is in adjacent Denton County). Dallas College maintains an "open-door" admissions policy regarding new students, allowing many people to attend college who otherwise might not be able to do so.

Campuses

The seven campuses in Dallas College, with the years they opened, are: *

(1966) * Dallas College Eastfield Campus (1970) * Dallas College Mountain View Campus (1970) *

Dallas College Richland Campus Dallas College Richland Campus (often stylized as Richland or RLC) is a public community college in Dallas, Texas. The school was founded in 1972 and is part of Dallas College. It is the largest campus in the college, featuring about 20,00 ...

(1972) *

Dallas College Cedar Valley Campus Dallas College Cedar Valley Campus (Cedar Valley or CVC) is a public community college in Lancaster, Texas. It opened in 1977 and has an enrollment of more than 6,000 students. It is part of Dallas College. Beginning in the spring of 2004, C ...

(1977) *

Dallas College North Lake Campus Dallas College North Lake Campus (often referred to as North Lake or NLC) is a public community college in Irving, Texas. It is part of Dallas College. It opened in 1977 and enrolls about 5,000 credit students and an additional 3,000 continui ...

(1977) *

Dallas College Brookhaven Campus Dallas College Brookhaven Campus (Brookhaven or BHC) is a public community college in Farmers Branch, Texas. It is one of seven campuses of Dallas College, and it opened in 1978, making it the newest campus in Dallas College (excluding satell ...

(1978) In addition to the seven campuses, several other locations also operate based on the needs of the local community: * Dallas College Bill J. Priest Center * Dallas College Cedar Hill Center * Dallas College Coppell Center * Dallas College Culinary, Pastry and Hospitality Center * Dallas College Dental Hygiene Center * Dallas College Downtown Design Center * Dallas College Downtown Health Sciences Center * Dallas College Garland Center * Dallas College Irving Center * Dallas College Pleasant Grove Center * Dallas College R. Jan LeCroy Center * Dallas College West Dallas Center

Administration

Dallas College

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organ ...

consists of seven members who are entrusted with governing the district. The board defines the vision of the district, serves as a liaison between the district and the community, approves annual budgets and sets policies, among other responsibilities. Board members are elected officials who serve six-year terms without compensation.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Two-year colleges in Texas . Universities and colleges in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex