Collin College


Collin College is a public community college district in Texas. It serves Collin County and Rockwall County, north and northeast of Dallas. Founded in 1985, the district has grown as the county has grown from around 5,000 students in 1986 to more than 59,000 credit and non-credit students.
As defined by the Texas Legislature, the official service area of Collin College includes all of Collin County and Rockwall County and the portions of Denton County within the cities of Frisco and The Colony and the portions included within the Celina and Prosper school districts.
Formerly known as the Collin County Community College District, CCCCD, or CCCC, the college re-branded itself "Collin College" in March 2007. The district headquarters is in the Collin Higher Education Center in McKinney.

Campuses

The McKinney Campus opened in 1985, with comprehensive renovations completed in the fall of 2009. The campus features include a multi-story parking garage, library, classrooms, offices, student development center and a clock tower. The campus library totals. In January 2016, Collin College added a 125,000-square-foot state-of-the-art Health Sciences Center.
The Plano Campus opened in fall of 1988. By number of students, this campus is the largest and hosts the college district's fine arts and athletics programs. The campus features a art gallery, theatre center, gymnasium, and tennis facilities. In January 2013, the college opened an 88,0000 square-foot library building with majestic architecture inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s design for the University of Virginia.
The Frisco Campus opened in July 1995. In 2014, thanks to a $2 million gift for scholarships by Roger and Jody Lawler of Frisco, the campus renamed their building from "D Building" to "Lawler Hall" in honor of the donation. Collin College's business and high-tech programs are centered at Frisco Campus. The culinary arts program moved there in 2009.
The district administration is located in the Collin Higher Education Center in McKinney. The CHEC hosts – among other things – a number of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs from five North Texas universities: Texas A&M University-Commerce, Texas Woman’s University, The University of Texas at Dallas, Texas Tech University and the University of North Texas. Offerings vary per university. The center is located at the intersection of the Central Expressway and Texas State Highway 121.
The Public Safety Training Center in McKinney provides reality-based training for law enforcement and firefighter cadets and active first responders. Training elements include law enforcement and firefighter training areas with simulated retail spaces, office buildings and living areas for reality-based scenario training, three firearms ranges, specialized gas-fired burn structures, a confined space rescue simulator, as well as other training obstacles. The facility, which was built in partnership with the cities of McKinney and Allen, opened in August 2018.
The college broke ground on the Collin College Technical Campus and its Wylie Campus in the fall of 2018. Both are scheduled to open in the fall of 2020. The college broke ground on planned campuses in Farmersville and Celina in December 2019 and January 2020 respectively. Both of these planned campuses are expected to open in the fall of 2021.
Collin College also has smaller campuses and centers in Allen High School, in Rockwall and a continuing education center in Plano. The following is a list of the college district's current and planned campuses.
The residents of Collin County approved a $600 million bond proposition in May 2017 to fund the college district's Master Plan. Three months after the bond proposition was passed, the college board of trustees approved a lower tax rate, citing continued tax base growth in the college's service area.
Master Plan priorities include: outreach and the creation of streamlined pathways from secondary education to four-year colleges and universities; the expansion of Collin College’s physical footprint; the addition of workforce and academic programs which align with projected Collin County labor market needs; the addition and improvement of services and facilities to create a welcoming environment; and implementing a consolidated maintenance plan. Projects funded by the bond program include campuses being built in Celina, Farmersville and Wylie, as well as a career and technology campus being built in Allen known as the Collin College Technical Campus, an information technology "center of excellence" at the Frisco Campus and the Public Safety Training Center built in McKinney.

Academics

In addition to associate degrees, the college has bachelor's degrees in cybersecurity and nursing established in 2019; this was the first time Collin College had bachelor's degrees available.

Athletics

Collin College's athletic program offers scholarships in Men and Women's basketball and tennis. The teams are known as the Cougars and Lady Cougars. They compete in the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference in the NJCAA Region 5. The Lady Cougars won NTJCAC conference championships in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020.
The competition gym and tennis facilities are located on the Plano Campus.

Crisis intervention training

Collin College provides training for law enforcement officers in North Texas, especially in the Collin County and Dallas area. The training is certified by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, and is a forty hour class based on the Memphis training model. The training is in the classroom, with reality-based conflict resolution, with presentation by the mentally ill and professional mental health providers.

Notable faculty