Virtual College of Texas

The Virtual College of Texas is a collaborative of all Texas public two-year colleges. It was created by the Texas Association of Community Colleges to facilitate sharing of distance learning courses among member colleges. CEO's of VCT member colleges developed the host-provider model upon which VCT operations rest and defined the principles of VCT's organization and management.

Host-Provider Model

Member institutions of the Virtual College of Texas share distance learning courses under the terms of a statewide VCT Memorandum of Understanding, which is based upon an operational model referred to as the Host-Provider Model.

The host (local) college:

• Enrolls students locally to take courses from other (provider) colleges
• Provides VCT-enrolled students with the same slate of student services it provides its other students
• Administers tests as directed by provider colleges' instructors
• Awards course credit
• Includes the courses on its own transcripts

The provider (remote) college:

• Provides instructors who define course content and instructional methodologies; directs all class activities, including assignments and tests, and awards final grades
• Sets the academic calendar for courses it offers through VCT
• The host college pays the provider a per-student instructional fee, following guidelines stated in the VCT Memorandum of Understanding. This fee is paid by the host college, not by students.

VCT Benefits to Students

• Students throughout Texas have access to a statewide, online distance learning course schedule. This means that it is less likely for a student not to have access to a critical course at a critical point because it isn't offered in the semester it's needed or it's full.
• Students are supported with quality, locally-delivered student services.
• They pay in-district tuition if they are in-district students, irrespective of which colleges provide courses taken through VCT.
• Courses provided by multiple colleges throughout Texas are maintained on a single transcript at the host college.

Colleges' Participation in VCT

Colleges decide for themselves whether or not they participate in VCT and, if they do, how and to what extent. Some colleges only provide courses because they locally offer large numbers of distance learning courses that usually meet their students' needs. Other colleges, with fewer locally offered distance learning courses, may serve mostly as host colleges, meaning they enroll students in courses provided by other colleges. Still other colleges both host and provide courses.

The following colleges currently participate as Host colleges in VCT. That means that they selectively offer courses that are available through VCT. Each college decides for itself which courses in the VCT State Course Schedule to make available to its students.

Testing

All proctored exams must be taken at TCC's Center for Distance Learning located on South Campus. Please call 817.515.4470 in advance to ensure the VCT Coordinator has received your exam from the provider college.

Grades

Final grades will be forwarded to TCC by the provider college and will post to the student's TCC transcript.

Student Support Services

VCT students have access to all TCCD student support programs, services, and activities, as well as all academic support services. These services include counseling, advising, libraries and learning information resources, and general and discipline-specific computer labs. Some services are available online while others are only available on campus.

A Student Handbook, which addresses student rights and responsibilities, and the College's Policy and Regulation Manual, are also linked here for your use.