Located in Dakota County inside the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area, Dakota County Technical College (DCTC) is a public, two-year technical college with a main campus in Rosemount, Minn., plus additional sites in Eagan and Apple Valley. DCTC belongs to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System and is one of five stand-alone technical colleges in the state. Approved by the 1969 Minnesota State Legislature, Dakota County Technical College started in 1970 with 50 students in three programs. The college's permanent site was a research farm formerly owned and operated by the University of Minnesota. The 185,000-square-foot (17,200 m) main building opened in 1973, offering 30 academic programs to nearly 700 students. At the state level, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System Board of Trustees serves as the college's governing authority. In 2011, a team of consultant/evalutators from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (NCA-CIHE) recommended that DCTC receive 10-year re-accreditation without conditions. This is the highest recommendation the college can receive. In 2007, Ronald E.