Educational opportunities are offered by the Dallas County Community College District without regard to race, color, age, national origin, religion, sex, or disability.

Admission requirements include:

• Graduation from high school or successful completion of the General Education Development (GED) certificate.
• Completion of all requirements for admission as a full-time student to the college
• Attendance at a program information session
• Satisfactory scores on pre-entrance assessment testing.
• Meet TASP requirements as needed.
• Rank ordering by grade point average earned on the two prerequisite courses
• Submission of a complete application packet to the Health Occupations Admissions Office during a designated filing period.

An applicant to the Biotechnology Program must be a high school graduate, have successfully completed the General Education Development (GED) certificate, or be enrolled in a high school Tech Prep Health Cluster course or articulation agreement with the College.
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Applicants to the Biotechnology Program must meet college admission requirements as outlined in the El Centro College Catalog. Applicants who have not finished high school must have earned a General Education Development (GED) certificate before applying for admission to the Biotechnology Program.

If you are not currently enrolled in El Centro College, please contact the college Admissions Office (214.860.2311) to complete an application for college admission, or using your Internet browser, download and print a DCCCD college application for admission form. Adobe Acrobat must be installed on your computer to download this form.
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All prospective students are required to attend an information session. Information sessions are scheduled throughout the year and no reservation is required. Please bring the information packet with you to the information session. The packet may be downloaded, or please call the El Centro Health Occupations Admissions Office (214.860.2272) or e-mail Patsy Jones-Strawther.
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All prospective students must achieve minimum assessment scores in reading comprehension and math skills. Students who have completed ENGL 1301 and MATH 1314 with a grade of "B" or higher in each of these two courses are exempt from assessment testing. Students who have earned a grade of "C" in one or both of these two courses must achieve minimum scores on reading comprehension and/or mathematics assessment testing before applying to the program.

It is not necessary to make an appointment to complete assessment testing. For Assessment Center hours, please call 214.860.2178 at El Centro College. For further assistance regarding assessment testing, please consult the Health Occupations Admissions Office (214.860.2242).

Students may present any combination of the following reading and math tests with the designated minimum scores to fulfill the assessment testing requirement. TASP, SAT, and ACT scores are valid for five years from time of testing to date of application. All other test scores are valid for two years from time of testing to date of application to the ECHO program. The College may require additional testing for TASP requirements.

Various assessment tests and the minimum acceptable scores for each:

If the applicant does not achieve minimum required scores on the retest, the applicant must complete one of the following options to be granted a third and final testing opportunity during that application filing period. The three options are:

• enrolling in developmental coursework
• submit documented proof of obtaining tutoring
• enrolling in the Continuing Education course "College Fresh Start" which grants access to the College Learning Center for self-remediation utilizing computer programs, video/audio tapes, etc.

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Effective fall 1989, the Texas Legislature mandated that all new students entering Texas public colleges and universities be tested for basic skills proficiency (reading, writing, and math). In most cases, a degree or certificate cannot be awarded until a student has passed the Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP).

Students who have not earned at least three (3) credit hours of college-level coursework prior to Fall 1989, and who have not passed all sections of TASP, are considered "TASP vulnerable". It is in the student's best interests to resolve TASP issues prior to applying to the program. A student cannot be awarded a degree or certificate of completion for a Health Occupations program until TASP requirements are satisfied.

Assessment testing requirements does not reflect complete TASP policies or procedures instituted by the College or the State of Texas. Passing TASP is not required to apply to the program. However, if developmental coursework is required and the student is accepted into the program, the developmental coursework is added to the student's courseload. Developmental course requirements fall under the jurisdiction of the College Counseling Office. To determine your TASP status, please see a counselor in the College Counseling Center (214.860.2084).
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Applicants are ranked for admission according to the grade point average achieved on three program prerequisite courses. Applicants whose GPA's are highest on the following three prerequisite courses are admitted for the number of spaces available (10):

PREREQUISITES		CREDITS
PSYC 2301	Introduction to Psychology	3
ENGL 1301	Composition I	3
	TOTAL	6

Applicants will be selected for admission to the Biotechnology Program according to the following competitive ranking process:

1. Applicants are listed by grade point average (GPA) on the two prerequisite courses from highest to lowest. A minimum of a 2.0 GPA is required on the two prerequisite courses.
   
   
2. When two or more applicants have the same GPA on the prerequisite courses, the total number of required general education support courses are listed from highest number of credit hours completed to lowest.
   
   
3. When two or more applicants have the same GPA on the prerequisite courses and the same number of required general education support course credit hours completed, the overall GPA on the required support courses is used to rank order applicants.
   
   
4. When two or more applicants have the same GPA on the prerequisite courses, the same number of required general education support courses completed, and the same GPA on the general education support courses, the date of orientation will be used to rank order applicants.
   

Admission to the Biotechnology Program is made without regard to race, color, age, ethnic origin, religion/creed, gender/sex, marital status, veteran status or disability.
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The inaugural class begins in Spring 2002. Thereafter, the Biotechnology Program begins in the fall semester. Applicants who qualify for admission are accepted upon a first-come, first-served basis within a filing period designated below.

Fall Semester Entry:
Applications must be submitted during the filing period January 1 - May 31. Acceptance letters are mailed by June 15. Should any space remain in the Fall class after the initial application period, late applications will also be accepted from June 1 - July 15 with acceptance letters mailed by July 20. Should any space remain in the Fall class after the second application process, applications will be accepted up until the first day of class for the Fall semester.

An applicant to the Biotechnology Program must compile all of the materials listed below and submit the materials in a 9x12 envelope to the Health Occupations Admissions Office at El Centro College on or before the application filing deadline. Incomplete packets will be returned to the applicant.

Note that this process is separate from applying for general admission to the college. If you are not currently enrolled in El Centro College, please contact the college Admissions Office (214.860.2311) to complete an application for college admission, or using your Internet browser, download and print a DCCCD college application for admission form. Adobe Acrobat must be installed on your computer to download this form.

NOTE: Applications are not "held over", therefore, students who are not selected for admission the semester for which they apply must resubmit their application during the next filing period for the next admission opportunity. There is no "waiting list" for the Biotechnology Program.

The application packet must include:

1. A completed Biotechnology Program application form (available at the information session).
   
   
2. Assessment test scores indicating successful achievement of minimum reading and math scores with the date of testing on the score sheet.
   
   
3. An official transcript from each college attended must be submitted including a transcript from any Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD) campuses (only one DCCCD transcript is required). If student has completed courses equivalent to ENGL 1301 or SPCH 1311 at a college outside the DCCCD, a catalog course description for the course(s) must be submitted.
   
   Official transcripts must be submitted with the application packet regardless of whether or not the applicant has previously submitted official transcripts to other campuses within the DCCCD.
   

   NOTE: Grade reports, official or unofficial degree plans, memos from instructors, and other such documents will not be accepted as substitutes for official transcripts. Only courses reflected on official transcripts with a minimum grade of "C" or higher will be considered as completed.

• Allow 6-8 weeks to receive official transcripts from colleges outside the DCCCD.
• If you have taken courses at more than one college in the DCCCD, only one DCCCD transcript is needed. Allow at least one week to receive an official DCCCD transcript.
• All science courses submitted for transfer credit must be completed no more than five years prior to program admission to the Biotechnology Program. Biotechnology courses submitted for transfer credit are evaluated on an individual basis

  SPECIAL NOTATION REGARDING OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS

  If a college or university outside the DCCCD will not release an official transcript directly to the student, the transcript must be mailed directly to the Health Occupations Admissions Office at the address below.

  If the transcripts have previously been mailed to the El Centro College Registrar's Office, the student should request a stamped photocopy of their transcript from the Registrar's Office to include with their application materials.

  Please note that the student is solely responsible for ensuring that his/her transcripts are received in the Health Occupations Admissions Office by the filing deadline. Therefore, it is to the student's advantage to obtain transcripts personally if at all possible for submission with the rest of the application materials.

4. A photocopy of the catalog course descriptions of courses taken outside of DCCCD colleges which apply to the Biotechnology curriculum and which the student seeks to transfer to this program. Course descriptions must be copied from the college catalog which was in effect the semester the course was completed. Course numbers must match the transcript and must be clearly marked on the photocopy. Do not mark or highlight courses on transcripts. No course descriptions are required for courses completed at DCCCD campuses.
   
   
5. A copy of a high school transcript, high school diploma or GED certificate.
   
   
6. The signed "Statement of Student's Responsibility" form (included in the application form).

The above materials must be placed in a 9"x12" envelope and submitted in person or by mail to: following address:

Patsy Jones-Strawther
Health Occupations Admissions Office
El Centro College
Main and Lamar
Dallas, TX 75202-3604

Telephone: 214.860.2242 or E-mail Patsy (pfj5310@dcccd.edu) if you have additional questions.

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