A guide to Collin County Community College

The college has been formerly known as Collin County Community College District. It is also the name for a community college district. It serves Collin and and Rockwall counties in Texas, located north and north east of Dallas. Officially known as Collin College since 2007, its campuses are spread throughout the region the college serves.

History and location

Origins Originally founded in 1985, Collin College's oldest campus is the the Central Park Campus in McKinney. Described as a comprehensive campus, the location, just west of US Highway 75, underwent extensive and impressive upgrades and renovations in 2009. The Spring Creek Campus The Spring Creek Campus opened in 1988. It offers classes in fine arts, communications and humanities, business and computer science, mathematics and natural sciences, as well as the social sciences. Situated in Plano, TX, it is also the site of the Honors Institute, the 3,300 square-foot Arts Gallery, the 356-seat John Anthony Theatre and the Brinker Tennis Stadium. By a considerable number of students, this is the college's largest campus.
Campuses
There are several other campuses, including one located in Plano's Allen High School, which focuses on continuing education. There is also one in neighbouring Rockwall County, which falls within the Rockwall Independent School District’s Administration/Education Center.
The Collin Higher Education Center The Collin Higher Education Center opened in McKinney in January 2010. This has a range of services and facilities available, but its main purpose is to host several bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes from five Texas universities. These are Dallas Baptist University, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Texas Woman’s University, The University of Texas at Dallas and the University of North Texas.

Learning and lifestyle

Features The college serves around 45,000 credit and continuing students every year. It offers students the opportunity to take courses in a wide range of subject areas, with over 100 degrees and certificates on offer. The college offers a college pre-admission programme, which allows students to collect credit at both Collin College and a major university simultaneously.
Certificates and training Collin College was also the first university in the United States of America to offer alternative teaching certification. It also offers extensive training in the public service and health fields. These include nursing, respiratory therapy, dental hygiene, emergency medical services, health information technology, surgical technology and fire science, amongst others.
Sports and other activities The college has a thriving athletics and sports scene, with the man's tennis team having won a national championship in 2010, and the women's team also has a history of excellence. Programmes are also offered in basketball, both for men and women. The college's athletic mascot is a cougar.