Northwestern Connecticut Community College (also known as NCCC) is a public community college in Winsted, Connecticut. As measured by enrollment it is the smallest or second-smallest of the twelve colleges in the Connecticut Community Colleges system.
The school has an open admissions policy. Classes are offered in two semesters (fall and spring) as well as a summer session and a winter intersession (usually held in January).
NCCC has about 1,600 full- and part-time students enrolled. A commuter school with no dormitories, the college's primary service area includes twenty towns in Litchfield County. Tunxis Community College in Farmington, Capital Community College in Hartford and Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield are the nearest of the state's other community colleges.
Along with credit and non credit certificates, the college grants the Associate in Arts and the Associate in Science degrees.
Dr. Barbara Douglass is president of the school.
Programs
NCCC conducts the state’s only Veterinary Technology Program and it also runs an Interpreter Training Program for interpreters for the Deaf and the Deaf Studies Program. There is also a Collegiate Education for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (CEDHH) program. It is the sixth community college in the state to offer the Connecticut Community College Nursing Program (CT-CCNP).
History
The Northwestern Connecticut Community College was founded in 1965 by Winsted residents, including Ralph Nader's older brother, Shafeek Nader and Norfolk native Ralph H. Keiller. It started as a private institution but the state took over funding and operation by November 1965. It occupies the original Gilbert School building. NCCC was the fourth state funded community college in Connecticut. The Northwestern Community College Foundation was incorporated in 1981.
Campus
The college is located on a rural town campus in Winsted, along U.S. Route 44 and Connecticut Route 8.
The 24,000-square-foot (2,200Â m2) Learning Resource Center was completed in 2003. The Library in the Learning Resource Center holds 41,000 volumes and subscribes to 180 periodicals, along with various audiovisual materials. During 2006 and 2007 construction was underway on a new Arts and Science Center which will be a three-story 32,000-square-foot (3,000Â m2) building. This new Arts and Science Center will house Chemistry, Microbiology, Biology, Physics and General Science laboratories on the first floor. The second floor will consist of classrooms and lecture halls. On the third floor, there will be art spaces for drawing, painting, ceramics, and graphic arts.
Accreditation
The college is accredited by:
- New England Association of Schools and Colleges
- Connecticut Board of Governors for Higher Education
In addition specialized accreditation has been granted to programs in Veterinary Technology, Medical Assisting, and Early Childhood Education programs.
Extracurricular activities
The Alpha Nu Epsilon chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa (the academic honor society for two-year colleges) was established at NCCC in 1987. The college also has a student newspaper, The Jabberwocky. Active clubs on campus include the Animation and Video Society, Criminal Justice Association, Connecticut Association of Veterinary Technicians, Early Childhood Education Club, Fine Art Society, History Association, Health Professions Club, Northwest Deaf Club, Ski and Snowboard Club, Spanish Club, SPECTRUM: Ethnic Awareness Society, REAL (Respect Equality and Alliance for Liberation) which is the GLBTQA club on campus and the Visual Communications Club. There is also an active student government body, the NCCC Student Senate. Aside from the various clubs, the school has an academic skills center which helps both GED and Associate students in various topics from Nursing to Mathematics.
References
External links
- Northwestern Connecticut Community College
- Connecticut Community Colleges