County
Richland College
For more than 35 years, Richland College of the Dallas County Community College District has focused on teaching, learning and community building.
In recognition of these efforts, the White House and the U.S. Dept. of Commerce named Richland a 2005 recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the only community college to have received this award.
Richland helps students build their future through courses that can be applied to the first two years of a baccalaureate degree, one- or two-year certificates in a number of career fields, and training in the latest technology for students who want to advance in their current careers.
When they arrived for classes in fall 1972, 3,500 Richland College credit students shared their 243-acre campus with sheep grazing on the farmland and ducks on the lakes separating the campus buildings.
Today, the campus in North Dallas is home to more than 15,000 college credit students and about 7,000 continuing education students – an internationally and ethnically diverse community speaking more than 90 first languages.
Richland College is expanding to meet the community's educational needs. Construction began in December 2007 on a $40 million, 114,000-square-foot facility that will house Richland's science programs, Science Corner, bookstore, coffee bar, and conference rooms. College administrators, architects, and contractors are seeking platinum status under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. Officials expect construction to be completed in August 2009.
The college is also building the Richland College Garland Campus, to offer career-related education, training, and services. Richland is seeking LEED gold status and expects classes to being at the Garland Campus in March 2009.
Academics
Richland has traditional fall and spring 15-week terms plus summer terms, a Winter Term, a May Term and a Fast Track Associate Degree program with 4-, 6-, and 8-week terms.
Richland's baccalaureate-track programs are comprehensive of what students usually find at the first two years of all Texas public universities. Richland transfers more than 53 percent of its students to Texas' four-year colleges and universities.
The college's academic programs include "learning community" clusters, thematically linked with special emphases, such as Global Studies, Honors, Mind-Body Health, Studies Abroad, the Richland Institute for Peace, Mexican-American/Latino Studies, African-American/Black Studies and Asian-American/Middle Eastern-American Studies. Richland has the only complete fast-track associate's degree option in Texas.
Career programs at Richland are continuously refined to meet urgent training needs for skilled workers to stay current in today's economy. Richland‘s Office of Corporate Services, in partnership with local chamber and other economic development partners, tailors contract training to the specific needs of local businesses.
The campus also is home to the award-winning Richland Collegiate High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering (RCHS), the first public charter high school awarded to a Texas community college. RCHS enrolls some 400 college-ready juniors and seniors, who simultaneously earn dual credit toward their RCHS graduation and RLC associate's degrees.
Richland's Emeritus Program continues to grow as the population of area residents over age 50 increases, including a new program designed specifically for the Baby Boomer generation.
Money Matters
A number of financial aid programs available including on-campus work study, scholarships & short-term loans.
The current tuition rate for Richland College is $41 per credit hour with a $41 minimum for Dallas County residents; $76 per credit hour with a $76 minimum for residents of other Texas counties; and $121 per credit hour with a $200 minimum for out-of-state residents. Additionally, most distance learning students who live out of state will be charged an additional $55 per credit hour for distance learning tuition. Tuition rates are subject to change, without notice, by Dallas County Community College District's board of trustees and by the State of Texas.
Campus Life
Richland College offers an award-winning library, containing more than 96,000 books, 44 research computers and 28,000 e-books.
The campus has more than 25 student clubs and provides a wide variety of culturally diverse programs, services and activities including intramural sports, art exhibits, student government and leadership opportunities, speakers and fine arts performances.
Richland is dedicated to environmental sustainability. GREENRichland, a group of faculty, staff, and students, was formed in the fall of 2005 to develop campus practices, policies, and programs to promote sustainability. Richland is participating in the American College and University President's Climate Commitment, under which leaders in higher education agree to make plans and policies to a more eco-friendly world, both locally and globally. Richland is one of only two Texas higher education institutions, the first in North Texas, to make such an agreement.
The campus features the Richland College Teaching-Learning-Community Building Labyrinth. This outdoor labyrinth provides students, staff, and community with an ancient meditation tool that has been rediscovered by the modern world, and is a valuable complement to Richland's Mind-Body Health Program. Found in almost every spiritual tradition, the labyrinth is a metaphor for the journey of life and spirit.
Mascot
R. Möbius Thunderduck (a.k.a. "Moby Duck") is the official Richland College mascot. All current and former students and employees of Richland College are Thunderducks. The first Thunderduck was spotted alongside what is now known as lower Lake Thunderduck in 1972, when Richland College enrolled its first students but was not recognized as such until 1974, when the duck's "thunder" species was first identified. The mascot's middle name derives from the principle of the Möbius strip, named for early 19th-century mathematician August Ferdinand Möbius, who formulated the continuous one-sided surface formed by twisting one end of a rectangular strip through 180° and attaching it to the other end. With its inner side indistinguishable from its outer side in continuous movement, the Möbius strip symbolizes for all Thunderducks the vital connection between their inner lives of mind and spirit and the outer reality of their lives of service to one another, family, community, and our planet and universe.
Athletics
Richland boasts a successful athletic program with five non-scholarship sports teams. The college is a member of the Metro Athletic Conference and National Junior College Athletic Association, Division III. Richland was the first institution in NJCAA or NCAA history to hold simultaneously three national titles in men's soccer, women's soccer and baseball. The college also has been championship finalists in basketball and volleyball.
For more information, please contact:
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Richland College Contact: 972-238-6100 |
