North Central Texas College opened fall classes Aug. 24 with more Cooke County students and better completion figures in its own 2024-25 Fact Book, while state formula money came in roughly $1.4 million below what the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board paid the college a year earlier. The Board of Regents meets Aug. 31 on an agenda that lists action items to approve the 2026-27 budget and propose the ad valorem tax rate paid by district property owners. The agenda records no outcome.
The Fact Book credits students with steadier progress. A larger share passed fall courses in 2024 than in 2022, and the share returning the next fall reached the highest mark in the three years the book covers. NCTC reported 1,457 fall-and-spring awards for 2024-25, including 818 associate degrees and 427 certificates. Fall unduplicated enrollment from Cooke County climbed to nearly 1,000, up from a little over 900 two years earlier, and districtwide headcount grew about 7 percent in 2024.
Source: NCTC 2024-25 Fact Book
State money moved the other way, for reasons written into a 2023 law. THECB's final FY2026 formula run puts North Central down 8.8 percent from what it was paid in FY2025, and the board ties nearly all of that to the performance tier. Under House Bill 8, THECB says, Texas pays junior colleges for outcomes such as dual-credit completion, transfer after 15 semester credit hours and credentials of value, above a base tier tied to essential operating needs and local share.
That leaves the college out of step with its neighbors. THECB's table shows Grayson, Weatherford and Tarrant County colleges gaining this year while Collin College lost ground, with the statewide pool up slightly, and it shows North Central still drawing more formula money than in FY2023, before HB 8 took effect.
North Central's formula money climbed under HB 8, then turned down
State formula funding for North Central Texas College, FY2023 through FY2026. FY2025 is the amount as paid; FY2026 is the final run.
Source: THECB, FY2026 final community-college formula funding runs
NCTC's current operating budget shows part of the shift already absorbed. Academic appropriations dropped, while total budgeted sources rose to about $79 million on higher local and federal dollars.
Chancellor G. Brent Wallace's stated optimism rests partly on private money. NCTC announced Aug. 21 that its foundation had passed $19 million in assets and said Wallace described that milestone as a stronger foundation for student success. The foundation reports more than 30,000 scholarships worth over $12.5 million and says its support also covers emergency assistance and programs.
NCTC and Safran Seats started machining and welding bootcamps in June, and the college said the program opens a path into coursework through this fall and next spring. The National Student Clearinghouse reported community-college enrollment up 3.1 percent nationally this spring, with undergraduate certificates the fastest-growing undergraduate credential category it reported. THECB's 2025 midpoint update, which quotes Wallace saying his region and the state need every student able to enroll in and finish credentials of workforce value, reports Texas still short of its 2030 credential goal.
| Figure of record | Reported |
| --- | --- |
| Fall course success | 74.4% (2022) to 75.8% (2024), NCTC Fact Book |
| Fall-to-fall retention | 41.7% (2022) to 43.15% (2024), NCTC Fact Book |
| Cooke County fall enrollment | 918 (2022), 933 (2023), 990 (2024), NCTC Fact Book |
| State formula funding | $15,404,855 FY2025 as paid to $14,048,617 FY2026, down 8.8%; base −$186,119, performance −$1,170,118 (THECB) |
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