The Dallas County Community College District has been selected to participate in a new federal education program that focuses on innovative learning and training opportunities through online courses at an affordable cost. DCCCD students will be able to spend less, borrow less, start classes with less risk and earn an associate degree online in either business or criminal justice through the new program, the Experimental Sites Initiative’s Educational Quality through Innovative Partnerships, or EQUIP.The U.S. Department of Education announced DCCCD’s partnership in the EQUIP program on Tuesday. Courses will be offered online through StraighterLine, which provides alternative academic credit in fast-growing occupations. Through EQUIP, DCCCD will offer an associate degree in business and an associate degree in criminal justice. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation is the third EQUIP partner in this group; its Quality Platform will measure critical student outcomes, including graduation rates, repayment ability and students’ cost per credit.
DCCCD’s partnership with StraigherLine and CHEA is one of only eight programs selected by the Department of Education for EQUIP. Those programs will allow students to access federal student aid that pays for high-demand courses such as learning to write computer code, finding careers in software development or pursuing studies in other areas as well — like DCCCD’s associate degrees in business or criminal justice.
In addition, the consortium will offer a new alternative which will allow students who have earned a certificate, but not an associate degree, to take StraighterLine courses and complete their associate degree.
“Thanks to the new EQUIP program, DCCCD students can complete and compete,” said Dr. Joe May, DCCCD’s chancellor. “In other words, they can finish college with an online degree and low-to-no debt, and they can compete in the workforce with a credential that employers want. They can find jobs that pay well and will help them support their families and contribute to their communities. Businesses get the trained workforce they need.”
Classes already are affordable, but DCCCD’s partnership with StraighterLine and CHEA under the EQUIP Experimental Site program offers financial aid opportunities that students did not have until now. Eligible students will be able to use Pell Grants and federal loans to pay for tuition and educational materials/expenses.
“The new program is a win-win for everyone,” May said.
DCCCD expects to enroll 600 students during the first year of the EQUIP program with StraighterLine and CHEA. Pending approval by the DCCCD board of trustees, EQUIP tuition is expected to be $99 per credit, which includes the cost of books; credit courses usually are three credits. The district plans to start the program in 2017 during the summer or fall semester after approval is finalized for the EQUIP program through the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
“StraighterLine helps students lower the cost and risk of starting a degree and helps colleges attract and retain students. College credit can be transferred to any of the more than 100 accredited colleges with whom we have guaranteed credit transfer agreements, including DCCCD,” said Burck Smith, StraighterLine CEO and founder.
Smith added, “The EQUIP program allows trusted non-traditional education providers to participate in the financial aid system and validates the potential for new providers to help solve tough problems like tuition escalation, inconsistent credit transferability, low retention rates and high levels of student debt and default.”
According to the Department of Education, the EQUIP experiment will allow students — particularly low-income students — to access federal student aid for the first time to enroll in programs offered by non-traditional training providers, in partnership with colleges and universities, including coding bootcamps, online courses, and employer organizations.
The goals of the experiment are to: test new ways of allowing Americans from all backgrounds to access innovative learning and training opportunities that lead to good jobs, but that fall outside the current financial aid system; and to strengthen approaches for outcomes-based quality assurance processes that focus on student learning and other outcomes.
“The most expensive degree is the one you don’t complete. EQUIP sites like this one are trying to change that, and we’re excited about their participation in the program,” said Yuanxia Ding, Senior Policy Advisor to the Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Education. The EQUIP experiment seeks to promote and measure college access, affordability and student outcomes.
Over the next decade, the number of jobs requiring some level of higher education is expected to grow more rapidly than those that do not; 11 of the 15 fastest-growing occupations will require post-secondary education.
“I’m thrilled that students will soon have access to these innovative programs, developed in partnership with colleges and new providers, with the help of federal financial aid,” said Under Secretary of Education Ted Mitchell. “As these innovative programs continue to develop, it will be increasingly important to understand what an outcomes-based quality assurance system looks like for such programs. I am encouraged to see that these colleges, providers, and quality assurance entities have stepped forward to provide models for doing so.”
