The STARLINK Training Network is entering its eighteenth year of providing innovative ideas, cutting-edge experts, and state-of-the-art training to higher education professionals via DVD and the Internet. As an agency of the Texas Association of Community Colleges, STARLINK offers cost-effective, high quality and dynamic learning opportunities to educational institutions, governmental agencies, and other public entities. The STARLINK network currently provides over 100 hours of professional development programming annually to 140 member colleges and universities in twenty-four states and Canada. Plus, through the U.S. Military and embassies we provide training in 22 countries around the world. In addition, hundreds more schools license our programs on an individual basis.

The State of Texas Academic Resource Link (STARLINK) was established in 1989 with an initial three-year Perkins State Leadership grant awarded to the Dallas Community College District (DCCCD) and the Austin Community College (ACC) jointly by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. STARLINK was designed to provide professional development for technical faculty via one-way video and two-way audio live satellite-based programming. It began as a network of 54 community and technical colleges receiving these video teleconferences.

The medium for program delivery was satellite-based video teleconferences, but STARLINK neither owned nor maintained any of the technology it used. Each participating college provided its own reception equipment. Program Producers used locally available production facilities, and satellite transponders were leased as needed. ACC had administrative responsibility for the project while DCCCD was the fiscal agent. STARLINK operated with direct input from all member institutions and under the guidance of a statewide advisory committee that included representatives from community and technical colleges, universities, state agencies and business and industry.

Between 1989 and 1993 STARLINK produced an average of 15 live teleconferences per year which were attended by up to 8,000 college faculty and administrators. The topics of the teleconferences were determined by a statewide needs assessment survey sent to all community college faculty and administrators. Faculty committees were then created for each teleconference to assist the program producer in determining content and presenters. Most of the teleconferences were produced at DCCCD or ACC but a number of other colleges such as Navarro, Tyler, Collin County and El Paso produced programs. The conference topics included Teaching Techniques, Multimedia in the Classroom, Computer Tools for Teachers, and similar topics. All the teleconferences were evaluated by the viewing faculty at the receive sites. 88% of the evaluations rated the teleconferences overall, good or excellent.

At the end of the initial 3-year grant period, STARLINK administrators and The Coordinating Board implemented a funding strategy that included membership fees from colleges as well as additional grants and contracts. Also, at this time, STARLINK’s request to receive state funding was approved by the Texas State Legislature. On the programming side, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) began marketing STARLINK’s programs nationally and the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) contracted for programs as well.

Between 1995 and 1997 STARLINK experienced another transition phase. In order to stabilize the funding situation, plans were developed to bring STARLINK under the governance of the Texas Association of Community Colleges. In 1996 the TACC Telecommunication Committee took over as the Executive Board of STARLINK and the Network became an official agency of TACC. 1997 brought a new partnership to STARLINK, The Association of Community College Trustees. This partnership would produce several teleconferences a year over the next few years.

A grant from the Texas Infrastructure Fund (TIF) in 1997-98 allowed STARLINK to build a mobile uplink truck. This allowed STARLINK to originate teleconferences from anywhere in Texas and additional colleges began producing teleconferences. The TIF grant also allowed for a digital satellite network to be created, with every community college campus obtaining a digital antenna and receiver. Also, in 1997 STARLINK began the concept work to create the Virtual College of Texas (VCT). From this initial work the VCT was created and in 1998 the Austin STARLINK Office was officially assigned to the VCT project. VCT now operates as a separate TACC entity.

STARLINK celebrated its 10th anniversary in 1998-99 by initiating its Internet based training, being one of the first faculty development organizations in the nation to do so. At the same time, STARLINK continued to produce about 15 videoconferences a year that attracted between 500 and 600 viewers of each live teleconference and many more via video tape, 90% of whom rated the videoconferences as good or excellent.

As we entered the new millennium STARLINK broadened its funding sources even more through a matching grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunication and Information Administration that allowed it to purchase its own digital satellite uplink equipment and installation. In addition, STARLINK opened its membership to colleges and universities around the country. New services, partnerships, and programs initiated from 2000 – 2003 include: delivering three continuing education health professions courses in cooperation with the Texas Administrators of Continuing Education (TACE), producing a five- hour Internet-based training course for new continuing education administrators, video streaming previously broadcast training programs for a month each, video streaming the live satellite broadcasts, televising the annual TACE state conference, and partnering with the Texas Community College Teachers Association to present a teleconference from their annual conference.

STARLINK constantly continues to grow, evolve, and expand its professional development offerings and delivery methods. Video production has moved out of the TV studio to campuses and classrooms, and new delivery methods such as audio conferences, Internet blogs, teaching modules, webinars are regularly being used. With the 2008 academic year satellite delivery has been replaced with DVDs and 24/7 Internet video streaming.

STARLINK has won numerous national and regional awards for quality programming over its lifetime. Just a few of the latest include the 2005 Award for Innovative Excellence from the National Council for Staff, Organization, and Professional Development and the 2006 Excellence in Teleconferencing Award from the National University Telecommunications Network. Starlink was honored in two 2007 international TV/film competitions, the Aegis Award and the Aurora Gold Award.


“Moving Ideas not People”