Innovations and expectations make higher education fun, and they also create a sense of excitement that fires the imagination and ignites communities, too. Many projects and special programs throughout the seven institutions of the Dallas County Community College District (plus its "virtual" site) have excited students and communities; cultivated expectations of success; and reflect the district's decades-long involvement with the League for Innovation in the Community College.

Here are some snapshots of innovation (and expectation!) from each of DCCCD's colleges:

Brookhaven College

Ellison Miles Geotechnology Institute—The Ellison Miles Geotechnology Institute represents a cooperative partnership among geotechnical professional societies, the local oil and gas community and Brookhaven College. In 1999, Dallas oilman and philanthropist Ellison Miles donated $3.5 million to renovate and expand an existing building as a training and conference center, which has become the home of a new geospatial technology program that recently was one of 10 finalists for the Bellwether Award in workforce development.

Head Start Partnership—In a unique program, Head Start of Greater Dallas and Brookhaven College have partnered to create an innovative, industry-standard laboratory school for the child development program that provides free, full-day child care for 134 children. Two state-of-the-art training rooms include a classroom with web-cam observation capability and a parent resource center for Head Start parents. An 18,000-square-foot facility (including eight classrooms, offices, a health clinic, a parent room and a kitchen) opens in fall 2007 to provide child care for students who are income-eligible and will offer college scholarships for Head Start parents.

Cedar Valley College

Energy Efficient Green Building Institute—In 2005, a team from Cedar Valley College—in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy—developed the EEGBI, one of the nation's first community college training programs in fields related to energy and green building technology. Early achievements include curriculum for a certificate program in residential building performance technology, as well as continuing education classes. Partners include area independent school districts and colleges, the area's largest utility company, Home Depot, city governments, and local businesses and industries. The initiative also addresses community education and city code development to guide green building resource development for the community.

Southern Dallas County Educational Consortium—Initiated by Cedar Valley College, the Southern Dallas County Educational Consortium includes area independent school districts and colleges, the Museum of International Cultures, the Best Southwest chambers of commerce, Methodist Hospitals and south Dallas businesses. The mission of SDCEC is to meet the educational needs of the communities in southern Dallas County by fostering cooperation among all levels of education, business, community and faith-based partners. The 2004 SDCEC summit led to the implementation of "Kid's College" to reach potential first-generation college students while they are in elementary school; the program focuses on leadership, empowerment, character education, mathematics, science and technology.

Eastfield College

STEP Grants—The National Science Foundation STEP grant provides a chance for faculty and staff to participate in an NSF grant that develops opportunities for students in the sciences. The program includes access to a scanning electron microscope laboratory to promote schools' interest in science education and to enhance the science laboratory experience at Eastfield. Additionally, student grants are offered for study at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and the Texas College of Osteopathy. The grant promotes science and medical careers for students through student club activities, field trips and guest lecturers. The program also supports undergraduate field research students at the Big Thicket National Reserve IN Texas.

Toyota TTEN Program—The Toyota TTEN Automotive Technology Program at Eastfield College recently was selected by Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. to receive one of 10 2006 TTEN School Recognition Awards (from among 55 programs across the country). The award recognizes high performance in meeting the objectives set by TMS for the partnership. A key component in the success of Eastfield's TTEN is an innovative outreach program—a collaboration that includes Tarrant County College District and Kilgore College, and which extends state-of-the-art training and job opportunities to automotive technicians in northeast Texas and northwestern Louisiana. The program also is part of a U.S. Department of Labor high-growth initiative to increase the number of certified auto technicians in the region.

El Centro College

Nursing Partnerships—Through a collaborative partnership, El Centro College has expanded enrollment and graduation rates for the Associate's Degree Nursing Program without additional cost. Selected hospital employees apply to the special nursing program offered through the college. The students attend class in their respective hospitals while working for those same hospitals part time. The hospital systems provide laboratory and clinical instructors, skills labs and clinical experiences. The college provides lecture faculty and administrative oversight of the program. Lectures are presented using teleconference technology and, as a result (and with assistance from the college), hospital systems now can "grow their own" nursing staffs.

ExxonMobil Green Team—The ExxonMobil Green Team was created through a partnership with the City of Dallas, the ExxonMobil Foundation and El Centro College. ECC's program, the ExxonMobil Academy, enrolls 100 high school students each year and provides instruction in the areas of reading, writing, mathematics and computer information systems. Students also participate in educational field trips during the eight-week summer program. A community service component for the "Green Team" means that, two days each week (when they aren't in class), those youths work for the City of Dallas Parks and Recreation Department or build houses for low-income families of the City of Dallas Housing Department. Students are paid minimum wage for the duration of the program, and more than 50 percent of the students enrolled in the ExxonMobil Academy at El Centro have returned to attend college at one of DCCCD's campuses.

Mountain View College

Opening Pathways for Future Hispanic Teachers and Nurses—Opening Pathways for Future Hispanic Teachers and Nurses is a collaborative project between Mountain View College and the University of Texas at Arlington that is funded by the U.S. Department of Education through a Title V grant. The five-year project's goals are to improve transfer rates and strengthen transfer success of future teachers and nurses who complete their lower-division studies at MVC. Discrete program elements include strengthening instruction and creating a supporting community; developing curriculum and systems to help students climb the teaching career ladder; launching a nursing program; and strengthening existing mathematics and science offerings. A significant portion of students who are served are Hispanic.

Family Involvement for Latino Success in College—In October 2006, Mountain View College and DCCCD received a three-year grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education to increase Latino success, persistence and retention through family involvement. The project includes a three-year, tiered schedule of activities. During the first year, two lead colleges—Mountain View and Brookhaven—implemented family-involvement credit courses. Two additional lead colleges, El Centro and Richland, will implement these family-involvement credit courses during the second year. Three additional colleges will adapt and implement these program elements during the third year of the FIPSE grant.

North Lake College

Native Texas Gardens—North Lake's native Texas gardening initiative is a partnership between the campus, district facilities, science department staff, student environmental club and the college's landscape vendor. The program is designed to gradually replace traditional planting areas with native Texas varieties. The team works together to identify locations for the gardens and to determine the varieties to be planted. This initiative conserves water, as well as labor costs for maintenance. It also helps model conservation efforts for students and the community. The initiative was recognized as North Lake's 2006-2007 Innovation of the Year.

Recognized Programs—In 2006-2007, the Texas Skills Standards Board recognized two technical programs offered by North Lake College: open source information and logistics technology-RFID information. The TSSB was established to develop a statewide system of skill standards for high-wage, high-skill occupations requiring a one- or two-year certificate or degree. Skill standards identify what workers need to know and will be able to do in that job, and how well they need to perform to succeed in the workplace. The standards are developed by the actual workers who perform the job and then are validated and endorsed by representatives across the industry.

Richland College

Baldrige Award—The Richland College Performance Excellence Model, based on its decades-long discipline with the MBNQU Education Criteria, provides the framework for Richland's continuous improvement, breakthrough innovation and organizational effectiveness. In 2005, Richland was the first community college and only the third institution in higher education to receive the nation's highest honor for performance excellence, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Consequently, the college is frequently called on by other educational institutions, governmental agencies, businesses and professional associations across the country for information about its performance excellence story.

Ethnic Studies—Richland's three ethnic studies programs—Mexican-American/Latino studies, African-American/Black studies and Asian/Middle Eastern-American studies—provide collaborative opportunities throughout Texas higher education. Legislation sponsored by RLC for the MALS and AABS programs provided that all community college boards assess whether such programs would benefit their communities; it further asserted that the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board should convene all two- and four-year institutions with such programs so that they could co-develop a curriculum for smooth student transfers. The college now is proposing similar legislation for its ASIA program. RLC was the first community college to launch these programs in Texas and, as a result, is called on frequently within DCCCD and from across the state to share curricula and experiences.

For more information, visit the DCCCD Web site at www.dcccd.edu.

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