Contact: Ann Hatch
214-378-1819; ahatch@dcccd.edu
For immediate release — May 21, 2019
(DALLAS) — Partnerships help students succeed. No question. That’s why the Dallas County Community College District and the University of Texas at Arlington recently renewed their academic partnership with a transfer agreement that takes DCCCD students from one of the system’s seven colleges to UTA, where they can complete a bachelor’s degree on a pathway to new careers.
The transfer agreement addresses several goals: to provide more pathways for DCCCD students to seamlessly transfer to UTA, where they can continue their studies; to provide more early advising; and to engage in data sharing, which can help ensure an effective process that takes DCCCD students from Brookhaven, Cedar Valley, Eastfield, El Centro, Mountain View, North Lake and Richland colleges to UTA.
More than 2,200 DCCCD transfer students were enrolled at UTA during the fall 2018 semester.
Dr. Joe May, DCCCD’s chancellor, said that the district will benefit from its renewal agreement with UTA by offering students a seamless pathway to a four-year degree.
“We want all students in the Dallas County Community College District to follow a higher education pathway that will take them smoothly from high school to one of our colleges and forward to four-year institutions where they can complete their bachelor’s degrees,” said May.
He added, “Renewing DCCCD’s transfer agreement with UTA is an important step along that pathway. DCCCD, UTA and other colleges and universities across Texas are working together to ensure student success by creating seamless transfer agreements to help them achieve their goals.”
Both DCCCD and UTA are committed to achieving the goals of 60x30TX, launched in 2015 by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, which calls for at least 60% of all Texans, ages 25 to 34, to earn a certificate or college degree by 2030.
UTA is ranked first in Texas and third nationally in the number of transfer students enrolled, according to U.S. News and World Report.
Dr. Vistasp Karbhari, president of UTA, said he wants DCCCD to feel assured that the university will provide a supportive environment and that each student will be welcomed into the Maverick family.
“UTA is already the university of choice for Dallas County Community College District students. We are committed to further streamlining transfer pathways through our relationship with DCCCD to increase affordability and enhance both degree progression and student success,” said Karbhari.
He added, “Our partnership with DCCCD benefits the entire state by ensuring seamless pathways for students, thereby making true transferability a reality in the North Texas region. This ultimately not only ensures better social mobility but also that DCCCD and UTA meet their commitment to our great state through the graduation of academically prepared and talented, workforce-ready students.”
Troy Johnston, UTA’s vice president for enrollment management, said that supplying a steady stream of highly skilled students who are equipped with degrees is part of keeping the workforce healthy and strong.
“Research shows that a person with a bachelor’s degree can earn nearly double the lifetime wages of a high school graduate, so completion is essential to the economic well-being of the state,” said Johnson.
New features of the transfer agreement include:
- Enhanced transition services for high-achieving students who apply to the UTA Honors College;
- In-depth, comprehensive advising for specific disciplines while students are still enrolled at a DCCCD college;
- Reverse transfer articulation so that DCCCD colleges can track progress to completion for associate degrees.
Mountain View College graduate Andres Lesmes currently attends UTA and said, “I transferred to UTA because it offered international business as a major. The UTA experience has been great, and the Lockheed Martin Career Center helped a lot. The staff taught me what I needed, such as creating my resume and doing interviews.”
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