Arapahoe Community College

Arapahoe Community College
Type Community College
Established 1965
President Diana M. Doyle
Students 20,000 (annually)
Location Littleton, Colorado, USA
39°36′30″N 105°01′11″W / 39.6084°N 105.0196°W / 39.6084; -105.0196Coordinates: 39°36′30″N 105°01′11″W / 39.6084°N 105.0196°W / 39.6084; -105.0196
Campus Urban / rural
Colors Purple and White
Mascot Coyotes
Website www.arapahoe.edu

Arapahoe Community College (ACC) is a community college in Littleton, Colorado. It was founded in 1965 as the first community college to open in the Denver area.[1][2]

History

The College began after a grass-roots movement by Littleton residents, led by Littleton activist Virginia Baker,[1] to provide post-high school education in the area.[2] Arapahoe Junior College began with 550 students.

After some years of independent operation, ACC joined the Colorado Community College System, comprising 13 institutions. In 2013, Frank Lee Earley (one of the founding faculty members) self-published an illustrated memoir, "The View From the Fourth Floor: A Personal History of Arapahoe Community College, 1965–2005",[3] which gives a first-person account of the founding and growth of the college.

ACC now serves over 21,000 credit and non-credit students yearly across its three campuses in the southern portion of the Greater Denver Metropolitan area:

Arapahoe Community College serves the southern portion of the Greater Denver Metropolitan area with three campuses:

  • The main campus, at 5900 South Santa Fe Drive, Littleton, CO, 80120
  • Parker Campus, at 15653 Brookstone Drive, Parker, CO 80134
  • Castle Rock Campus, at 4700 Castleton Way, Castle Rock, CO 80109

ACC is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. It has an open-door admissions policy as well as a "concurrent enrollment" program for high school students, allowing such students to earn college credits while still enrolled in high school. In the 2014–2015 academic year, high school students accounted for about a quarter of ACC's total enrollment.[4]

The College offers over 90 degree and certificate programs. In addition to its traditional classroom learning environment, ACC has over 200 courses available online. These classes, which include classes such as accounting, mathematics and history, can be used to count towards an associate degree. ACC uses the online learning management system Desire2Learn as the platform for online classes.[4]

In 2013, Frank Lee Earley (one of the founding faculty members) self-published an illustrated memoir, “The View From the Fourth Floor: A Personal History of Arapahoe Community College, 1965–2005.[3]

In January 2017, the College announced plans to construct a $40 million campus in the Meadows community of Castle Rock, CO. The campus is planned to be a collaborative project between ACC, Colorado State University and Douglas County School District.[5] Construction on the campus broke ground on May 21, 2018. [6]

Awards

Arapahoe Community College's annual literary magazine, Progenitor, won the American Scholastic Press Association's annual magazine competition with First Place with Special Merit in 2014 and 2015. The publication also won an award for excellence from the University & College Designers Association (UCDA) in 2015.[7] In 2012, the magazine was a finalist for the Associated Press Pacemaker Magazine Award[8] and won first place in the American Scholastic Press Association (ASPA) annual magazine competition.[9]

In 2011, ACC's Equality Club won the New Group Award in the first annual Out in the Silence Award for Youth Activism.[10]

Grants and endowments

ACC is one of six community colleges with a Great Books Program[11] approved by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. Participants in the program receive a certificate that is recognized by admission councils at many 4-year colleges and universities.[11]

In June, 2015, ACC earned a $2.3 million workforce training grant to support its Health Information Technology program (HIT), one of 71 such grants distributed nationwide.[12]

Notable people

Notable faculty

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 "Arapahoe Community College: A look at the early days". Douglas County News-Press. Douglas County, CO. May 8, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Happy 50 birthday to ACC". Littleton Independent. Littleton, CO. September 8, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  3. 1 2 "New Publications in 2013". Center for Colorado & the West at Auraria Library. Archived from the original on 24 November 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Fast Facts". Arapahoe Community College. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Higher-education campus finds home in Castle Rock – Colorado Community Media". Colorado Community Media. Retrieved 2017-01-13.
  6. ↑ "Castle Rock Collaboration Campus groundbreaking approach to higher education – SOURCE". SOURCE. 2018-06-04. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  7. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  8. ↑ "Honors & Awards" (PDF). Community College Week: VOLUME 25, No. 4. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  9. ↑ "ACC's Progenitor earns top honor from ASPA | Colorado Career and Technical Education Newswire". newswire.coloradocommunitycolleges.com. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  10. ↑ Wilson, Dean Hamer and Joe (2011-12-10). "Winners of the First Annual 'Out in the Silence' Award for Youth Activism Announced". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  11. 1 2 "Great Books Program". Arapahoe Community College. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  12. ↑ "ACC earns tech grant". Littleton Independent. Littleton CO. June 12, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  13. ↑ https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/05/06/community-college-white-house-meet-three-staffers
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