Oklahoma City Community College

Oklahoma City Community College
Motto Homines Amicitia Civitas (Latin) or "Man, Friendship, and Community"
Type Public
Established 1972 (as South Oklahoma City Junior College)
Endowment $91,544[1]
President Dr. Jerry Steward
Board of Regents Lenora F. Burdine, Chair
Administrative staff
534[2]
Students 19,700[3]
Address 7777 South May Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73159-4444, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
Campus Urban
143 acres (58 ha)
Colors Red     
Mascot None
Affiliations North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs
Website www.occc.edu

Oklahoma City Community College, also referred to as OCCC or O-Triple-C, and formerly known as OKCCC or O-K-Triple-C, is a coeducational community college located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The community college was founded in 1972. It currently enrolls 19,700 students. The faculty consists of 134 full-time professors, and 400 adjunct professors. The Oklahoma City Community College is a post-secondary school. Students take classes for a variety of reasons: working towards an associate degree, certificate, transfer course work to a university, or to obtain technical skills.

It offers 36 Associate in Arts and Associate in Science degree programs, 24 Associate in Applied Science degree programs, and 18 Certificate of Mastery programs. Most courses are structured in a semester or 16-weeks. Some courses can be completed in little as 8, 5, or 4 weeks.[4] OCCC's programs maintain regional accreditation from The Higher Learning Commission.[5]

Courses are mostly taken at the campus itself, with average of 21:1 student to teacher ratio. Courses are also being offered online. The President of the Oklahoma City Community College is Paul Sechrist. Sechrist became the appointed President after the retirement of Robert Todd in 2005.

History

Oklahoma City Community College was initiated by the South Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce in March 1969. The Chamber petitioned the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to create a local junior college. From there building began in 1972. September 25, 1972 marked the first day of South Oklahoma City Junior College with an enrollment of 1,049. The Board of Regents voted in 1983 to change the name to Oklahoma City Community College.[6]

Development

In 1996, the college added a new library, the Keith Leftwich Memorial Library, and the Robert P. Todd SEM (Science, Engineering, and Mathematics) Center. From 1989 until 2015 the college also had an Olympic-sized pool that was paid for with donations by local Oklahomans and is used for swim meets, children's swimming lessons and general community recreation.[7] The college is also host to an annual Fall Arts Festival on Labor Day weekend.

In 2011, OCCC dedicated the Family And Community Education (FACE) center at the former John Glenn Elementary School, which houses the Child Development Center and Lab School as well as adult basic education courses including GED and ESL.[8]

As of August 1, 2011 all of Oklahoma City Community College's campus is smoke-free. On August 15, 2011, the college established the Oklahoma City Community College Police Department.

On April 13, 2012 The Pioneer, OCCC's student newspaper uncovered alleged open records abuses by OCCC's Marketing and Public Relations Department. The story was picked up both locally and nationally by FOI Oklahoma[9] and the Student Press Law Center.[10]

References

Coordinates: 35°23′15″N 97°34′12″W / 35.38750°N 97.57000°W / 35.38750; -97.57000

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