Community College Programs in Texas

Early College High School

Early College High Schools (ECHS) are autonomous high schools located on a higher education campus. A student enrolled in an ECHS will have the opportunity to complete high school in 4 to 5 years as well as earn approximately 60 semester credit hours of collegiate course work. Partnerships between a community college and a public school district have established the following Early College High Schools:

• Del Mar College/Corpus Christi ISD
  
• El Paso Community College/Socorro ISD
  
• Houston Community College System - Southeast College/Houston ISD

Virtual College of Texas

Members and Mission. The Virtual College of Texas is a consortium of all accredited, public Texas community and technical colleges. It includes the 50 community college districts and the four colleges of the Texas State Technical College system. The mission of VCT is to provide distance learning access to all Texans wherever they may live, regardless of geographic, distance, or time constraints. There have been more than 34,000 course enrollments through VCT since it became operational in 1998.

Making the Most of Distance Learning Resources. The basic VCT strategy is to share distance learning resources among its member colleges. This sharing makes it possible for students to enroll in a local (host) college for courses provided by other colleges throughout Texas, while receiving support services from the local institution.

Achieving the Dream

Achieving the Dream is a multiyear national initiative to help more community college students succeed (earn degrees, earn certificates or transfer to other institutions to continue their studies). The initiative is particularly concerned about student groups that have faced the most significant barriers to success, including low-income students and students of color. The initiative includes 14 national partner organizations, 82 community colleges in 15 states and many dedicated individuals.

Editorial is provided by Texas Association of Community Colleges, www.tacc.org.