This brief analyzes where veterans live, how their educational outcomes differ across counties, and highlights enrollment patterns, program preferences, and key industries where veterans are employed. The brief also focuses on the veteran population at Dallas College with insights on academic pathways and challenges that affect student success based on qualitative research findings.

This brief explores where past cohorts of students are now—following their earnings trajectories for up to 30 years—to better understand how their Dallas College education and programs shaped their outcomes over time.

First published in 2023, this updated report presents findings on an alumni survey aimed to build understanding of the perceived value of the Dallas College experience among former students.

Developed by the Texas Postsecondary Student Mental Health Coalition, the playbook offers practical guidance for institutional leaders seeking to strengthen and coordinate their mental health strategies.

Over the past two decades across the United States, educators and policymakers have developed multiple dual enrollment models to connect high school education, college pathways, and career opportunities for students with historically limited access to higher education, professional networks and social capital, and well-paying jobs.

College should be valuable for students, leaving them better off after they graduate than when they enroll, at a reasonable cost. This perspective is not controversial in intent, but it has proven challenging in practice.

Many community college students, including those at Dallas College, enroll with the aspiration of earning a bachelor’s degree. In most cases, this means that the student hopes to earn credits at the community college, transfer to a four-year university, and ultimately earn their degree.

Student retention is a critical challenge for community colleges, where the goal is not only to enroll students but also to guide them successfully to completion or transfer. Early departure can leave students burdened with debt and limited access to labor market opportunities, while the college experiences a loss of enrollment and diminished student outcomes.

Dallas College, like other community colleges, aspires to be a place where all people, no matter their age, income, or background, have an equal opportunity to learn and advance their lives. With this open access mission, the College serves students who range from dual-enrolled high schoolers to working adults with children of their own.

Education is often framed as a ladder for socioeconomic mobility, but for many underserved families, the steps are fragile or completely missing. Dallas College, like many community colleges, is uniquely positioned to build a ladder for a broader range of student populations through flexible entry points to postsecondary education, affordable tuition, and stackable credentials in high demand fields, allowing students to build career skills progressively.