Northeast Alabama Community College

Best Community Colleges:Northeast Alabama Community College (AL)

Situated near Rainsville, Alabama between DeKalb and Jackson counties, Northeast Alabama Community College (NACC) serves the Northeast Alabama region.

Through the academic divisions at Northeast Alabama Community College – Business & Computer Science, English & Fine Arts, Mathematics, Health Sciences, Social Science/Speech/Foreign Language and Natural Sciences — students may earn an Associate of Arts (AA), Associate in Science (AS) or Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in more than 130 majors.

Career/Technical programs, which lead to a certificate or an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree, include such programs as Drafting & Design Technology, Salon & Spa Management, Industrial Electronics, and Emergency Medical Services.

STARS (for state colleges and universities in Alabama) and 2TO4 (for independent colleges and universities in Alabama) are articulation agreements guaranteeing NACC credits transfer to four-year institutions and two years at NACC counts as two years towards a bachelor degree.

Graduates of its Technical/Career programs have ranked first within the Alabama Community College System in job retention and NACC students have placed first among prospective teachers taking the Basic Skills test.

Northeast Alabama Community College also has Distance Education, Continuing Education (including ESL and GED) and Workplace Education (classes offered by a company or industry specifically for its employees) programs available. Additionally, NACC chosen as one of 36 colleges to participate in the Plus 50 Encore Completion Program, a national effort sponsored by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) to train 10,000 baby boomers for new jobs in healthcare, education and social services.

The community college ranked #15 in the CNN Money listing of top community colleges in 2012. The Aspen Institute listed Northeast Alabama Community College among the top 10% of all U.S. community colleges in 2013.

North Iowa Area Community College

Best Community Colleges: North Iowa Area Community College (IA)

North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC), a two-year community college located in Mason City, Iowa, serves the North Iowa region. North Iowa Area Community College was founded in 1918 as the first public two-year college in Iowa.

Annual enrollment at North Iowa is 3700, with 56% enrolled in transfer programs and 44% in Career/Vocational programs.

Among first-time, full-time degree-seeking students at NIACC, 42% graduate within 3 years and another 20% transfer prior to graduation.

NIACC has more than 40 articulation agreements with 4-year colleges and universities and almost all of the school’s career/vocational programs are transferable.

The community college has a notably low tuition, compared to other community colleges, colleges and universities in the region. Additionally, NIACC offers an “Extreme Makeover: College Edition” contest annually, where two lucky students win an entire year of education at NIACC for free, including textbooks and other resources.

NIACC Career & Technical graduates have a 95% placement rate while 91% of NIACC graduates continue to live and work in North Iowa.

NIACC’s John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center is a major source of entrepreneurial support for local residents and the community in reaching their potential. The center has assisted in 127 new local business starts and 300+ new statewide starts.

The junior college has a strong intercollegiate athletics program – with more than 250 students involved — including men’s baseball, basketball, wrestling, golf, cross country, soccer and track & field; and women’s basketball, softball, cross country, volleyball, golf and track & field. For example, NIACC claimed the 2013 Region XI baseball title.

The NIACC Performing Arts & Leadership Series offers a variety of shows, entertaining ~16,000 people each year. Online classes and a continuing education program provide learning to more than 3000 participants annually.

The Aspen Institute listed North Iowa Area Community College among the top 10% of all U.S. community colleges in 2013. The college ranked #14 in the CNN Money listing of top community colleges in 2012.

Western Wyoming Community College

Best Community Colleges: Western Wyoming Community College (WY)

Situated in Rock Springs, Wyoming, Western Wyoming Community College (WWCC) is one of seven community colleges in Wyoming. An extended campus center is located in Green River in Sweetwater County. Rock Springs is the fourth largest town in Wyoming; the next closest towns are Salt Lake City, Utah (180 miles) and Denver, Colorado (350 miles).

Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park and Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area are all accessible to the WCCCC community.

Due to the high elevation and harsh winters in the area, all of the main college is located indoors, connected by hallways.

The junior college awards one-year certificates in 36 program areas, including:

• Journalism
• Web Site Development
• Technical Theatre
• Accounting
• Digital Design Technologies
• Fitness Leadership
• Power Plant Maintenance Mechanics

Western Wyoming Community College confers Associate of Arts (AA), Associate of Fine Arts (AFA), Associate of Nursing (AN), Associate of Science (AS) and Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees, and a few four-year degrees in partnership with the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming.

Degree-related programs include:

• Science and Mathematics
• Humanities and Fine Arts
• Health Science
• Social Science
• Business
• Technology & Industry

Close to 70 percent of students are in transfer programs. The school has a strong international students segment, with many resources including a host family program.

Online and compressed video courses are available statewide; online courses may be taken for associate, bachelor and master degree courses.

An annual “Wyoming Safety & Workforce Summit” is free to the community and offers presentations on safety issues and workforce development.

WWCC is also home to the Instructional Well-Site Facility, a closed-loop system that provides “real world” training for local industry technicians and customized specialty courses. This site also serves as a meeting space for industry professionals.

WWCC is a member of The National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC). College Atlas.org named WWCC one of the top 25 community colleges. The college ranked #13 in the CNN Money listing of top community colleges in 2012. Finally, WCCC ranked #15 in the 2010 Washington Monthly ranking of the top 100 U. S. community colleges.

Kingsborough Community College

Best Community Colleges:  Kingsborough Community College (NY)

Kingsborough Community College, located in Brooklyn, New York, is part of The City University of New York (CUNY) system. Kingsborough Community College provides a broad range of associate degree programs in the liberal arts and in career education. The community college also provides certificate programs in an array of areas.

Kingsborough Community College offers programs for special populations including the My Turn program which provides free tuition for residents 60 years of age and older. College Now prepares high school students for college-level work. New Start provides a second chance to students who had difficulty in college.

Most of the classes have less than 30 students, allowing instructors to teach students via hands-on learning and group discussions utilizing technology such as video-conferencing rooms and smart classrooms.

Kingsborough Community College named one of the nation’s top community colleges by the New York Times. The community college named a 2013 Aspen Institute Finalist with Distinction.

Community College Week reports Kingsborough Community College consistently ranks in the upper half of the top 100 community colleges in the nation awarding associate degrees to minorities as well as the number of associate degrees awarded in total.

Kingsborough Community College received an award from the national community college honor society, Phi Theta Kappa, for the chapter with the largest growth.

Marion Military Institute

Best Community Colleges: Marion Military Institute (AL)

Marion Military Institute (MMI), located in Marion, Alabama, is a two-year junior college and regarded as the official state military college of Alabama. Founded in 1842, MMI is the oldest military junior college in the U.S. The junior college focuses on intellectual, moral-ethical, physical-athletic, and leadership development experiences in a military environment. In recent years, MMI has produced more than 206 admirals and generals; the school has a number of renowned military alumni.

MMI offers various military training programs including the Army’s Early Commissioning Program (ECP) in which qualified students can get commissioned as a Second Lieutenant after two years of college.

The Service Academy Preparation Program (SAP) provides freshmen a year of solid academic and physical preparation for students who wish to attend one of the Service Academies (West Point, Air Force Academy, Naval Academy, Merchant Marine Academy or Coast Guard Academy). Marion also offers the first two years of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps.

MMI recently introduced a new program: An extracurricular flight-training program using a local partner in aviation. Enrollees learn to fly through a combination of online ground school instruction, computer-based and in-flight training.

Providing a private pilot’s certificate, the program is designed to preclude U.S. Air Force and Navy Initial Flight Screening (IFS) requirements.

Annual enrollment of degree- and non-degree-seeking students is ~400.

The junior college offers Associate of Science and Associate of Arts degree programs, based on a rigorous General Studies curriculum. Within these programs, students may select study options based on their interests; they can choose the General Studies curriculum or, focus on specific disciplines e.g. Natural Science, Pre-nursing, Elementary Education or Criminal Justice.

Cadet life at Marion is rich with extracurricular options such as Choir, Sports, Drama, Band, Drill Team, etc.

The college ranked #12 in the CNN Money list of top community colleges in 2012.