Collin College Supplies Critical Skills Needed by Businesses

This article was published in the July 26 edition of Newsweek magazine with a subtitle "Relevance, partnerships, and a sense of urgency are driving the success of graduates in high-demand fields."

Nestled among 32 acres in Allen, Texas sits the Collin College Technical Campus. The academic facility reflects the community college’s tremendous effort to educate students across multiple high-need fields, from construction management, electrical, and plumbing to HVAC, welding, and automotive. The Technical Campus is also the home of a Texas A&M Engineering Academy and the Collin College Academic Alliance.  It is the fastest-growing among Collin College’s 10 campuses, centers, and the iCollin Virtual Campus, all of which are focused on providing relevant education to almost 60,000 students every year.

“It's an exciting time to be here,” said Dr. H. Neil Matkin, Collin College district president. “If I could sum up the keys to our success in one word, it’s ‘relevance.’ It's listening to the community and understanding their needs. Our students come out of programs with the necessary skills to fill the employment needs of the businesses and industries around us.”

Driven by a sense of urgency, nimbleness, and extensive collaboration with industries and businesses, Collin College offers more than 200 degrees and certificates. The college also awards bachelor’s degrees in four academic areas including nursing, cybersecurity, construction management, and clinical operations management, some of which are available fully online. These degree programs were created with input from advisory committees comprised of business leaders committed to developing essential workforce pipelines. Pending approval by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, the college plans to introduce a Bachelor of Applied Science in software development, it’s fifth bachelor’s degree program, to continue to serve the needs of businesses and the community.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2025, the college looks forward to building on its successes in the year ahead. It launched the Texas A&M Engineering Academy at Collin College, a program in which students can pursue an engineering degree while co-enrolled at Texas A&M University and Collin College, thus saving thousands. Similarly, a new Academic Alliance partnership with Texas State University and The University of Texas at Dallas will also add multiple new bachelor’s and master’s degrees for the community at significant savings.

“We have a singular focus, and it's educating students,” said Dr. Matkin “We're trying to help students develop critical skills and expose them to things that will help them make their own decisions. Through our outstanding faculty and university partnerships, we have developed a wonderful environment focused on student success.”

Article written in cooperation with PangeaGlobe.