DALLAS (1080 KRLD) - Officials with the Dallas County Community College District are working on plans to unify the district's seven colleges into one large college.
The administrative move would mean students could more easily take classes at multiple campuses within the district with the knowledge that their classes would count toward their degree.
Under the current rules set out by the DCCCD's accrediting organization, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, students need to take at least 25 percent of their classes at one college to earn their degree from that college.
"Sometimes, in the rush to get through and to take all the right courses, you end up not getting that 25 percent at one of our colleges," said DCCCD Chancellor Dr. Joe May. "20,000 of our 82,000 students can be going to multiple college in order to accelerate the pace at which they are earning their degree. There will be an improvement in terms of their ability to navigate through all of our locations and to be able to achieve their goals and career objectives."
The change from a community college district with seven colleges to one unified college with seven campuses will need to be approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
DCCCD will present its information to that organization next month, and officials with SACS could vote on the plan in June.
"Because we know longer will be seven colleges, we will be needing to come up with a new name," said Dr. May. "As we've looked out there, Dallas College is an option, Dallas County College is an option."