Research Agenda

Our Mission

The Research Institute at Dallas College conducts actionable higher education research that seeks to elevate community college student success and post-completion outcomes. We develop regional and national insights while directly supporting strategic decision-making within our college and local community.

Research Agenda for Academic Year 2025-2026 (updated September 2025)

Key research priority areas for the Research Institute include barriers and solutions to educational attainment (e.g., costs, services), institutional effectiveness (e.g., benchmarking, KPIs), post-college outcomes (e.g., employment, transfer), and unique student populations (e.g., parents, adults). An at-a-glance view of the Institute’s research agenda for the AY25-26 is outlined below. The Research Institute plans to directly produce briefs and reports related to its Key Projects this year and to provide research assistance to its collaborators and partners for projects listed under Research Support.

Key Projects

• Finding Their Next - Career and Transfer Outcomes - Annual Report
• Study of Dallas College Alumni's Living Wage Attainment - 1992-2022
• Stories of Intergenerational Mobility at Dallas College
• P-TECH in North Texas - Landscape Analysis
• Transfer and Economic Mobility in North Texas
• Establishing a "North Star" Student Success Metric
• Final Release of Longitudinal Study of Dual Enrollment and Earnings
• Research on Adult Learners and Student Parents
• Economic Returns of Short-Term and Workforce Credentials
• Analysis of Promise Program and Dual Credit Opportunity Youth
• Ongoing Predictive Modeling of Admissions and Retention
• Dashboard Updates - College Scorecard and Education Research Center Data

Research Support

• Community College Bachelor's Degrees
• English Language Learners at Texas Community Colleges
• Economic Returns of Workforce Training Programs
• Marketable Skills and Faculty Integrators
• Career Support for International Students
• Survey of Community College Outcomes