New campuses
The three new campuses are expected to open by the end of 2021. Each will offer academic transfer courses and various campus-specific programs.
The 300,000-square-foot Wylie Campus is set to open in fall 2020. Programs at the campus will include business management; education; fine arts; health sciences; real estate; and science, technology, engineering and math.
Officials broke ground on the 96,000-square-foot Celina Campus in January for a projected fall 2021 opening. The campus will initially offer classes in business management, information technology, health professions and computer-aided drafting and design.
“Celina is one of the fastest-growing cities in the area,” Collin College District President Neil Matkin said in a news release announcing the groundbreaking. “We are thrilled to bring higher education to northwestern Collin County, and we could not do this without our strong partnerships with Celina leaders.”
In addition to classrooms, the campus will include a library, science labs and student enrollment services.
The new 52,000-square-foot Farmersville Campus is also set to open in fall 2021. It will offer courses in business management, logistics and supply chain management, computer systems and workforce programs.
Technical Campus
Collin College students will have more opportunities for workforce education when the Technical Campus opens this fall in Allen.
The building will serve up to 7,100 college and dual-credit students when fully occupied, according to Collin College’s website. Program topics will include automotive, construction, health care, information technology and manufacturing, per the site.
In the 2020-21 school year, Frisco ISD students will have dual-credit course options with the campus’ opening, said Angela Romney, FISD managing director of academic programs, at a February board workshop.
Technical courses for FISD students will be offered in biomedical equipment technology; industrial automation; construction management; heating, ventilation and air conditioning; automotive technology; and collision technology.
IT Center construction
Construction for the IT Center at Collin College’s Preston Ridge Campus began in January.
The facility is slated to be 92,000 square feet with multiple classrooms and lab spaces for computer networking, cybersecurity, computer systems, computer science and geospatial information systems, said Toni Jenkins, senior vice president for campus operations for Collin College.
“It’s all very high-tech,” she said. “The labs are going to really help students be able to simulate work environments in these high-tech industries.”
Completion of the IT Center is slated for August 2021, Jenkins said.
New degree offerings
Beginning in 2020, students can pursue two new degree programs. One allows registered nurses to work toward a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree, and the other is a four-year degree program in applied technology in cybersecurity.
The school’s website states RN-to-BSN students can schedule all clinical requirements to fit their schedule and can earn a Sigma Theta Tau nurse manager certificate.
Surgical assisting program
The Collin College Surgical Assisting Program received accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs in January. It is the only such accredited program in Texas and one of just 12 in the nation. Students in the program can work toward an advanced technical certificate at the McKinney campus.
“The first semester of the program entirely is spent on learning how to sew and tie knots in wound healing and hemostasis,” program director Donna R. Smith said. “[Students learn to] stand across from a surgeon and now be that extra set of hands throughout the entire surgical procedure.”
The program includes classroom instruction and clinical training in preparation for the national exam.
