Black River Technical College (BRTC) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

Pocahontas, Arkansas Pocahontas is a city in Randolph County, Arkansas, United States, along the Black River. According to the 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city was 6,608. The city is the county seat of Randolph County. Pocahontas has a number of hist ...

. It is named for the Black River which runs through the city. BRTC serves approximately 3,000 students annually through its degree programs, technical courses, and community educational offerings.

History

BRTC was established in 1972 as Black River Vocational Technical School on land donated by the City of

. BRTC's original purpose was to provide vocational education for the Northeast Arkansas region. The college adopted its current name in 1991 and became an independent institution of higher education in 1993 at which time it offered

associates degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The f ...

s and college courses toward core requirements for four-year schools.

Governance

BRTC is governed by a seven-member board of trustees appointed by the governor. Each trustee serves a seven-year term which ends on June 30 of the final year.

Campus

The college's main campus is on Arkansas State Highway 304 E in Pocahontas, covering in 20 buildings over . BRTC also has one offsite location in

Paragould Paragould is the county seat of Greene County, and the 19th-largest city in Arkansas, in the United States. The city is located in northeastern Arkansas on the eastern edge of Crowley's Ridge, a geologic anomaly contained within the Arkansas delta ...

about 40 minutes away from Pocahontas that offers technical and general education credit and workforce training. It is also the location for the Greene County Industrial Training Center.

Academics

BRTC offers the Associate of Arts degree, which can be credited toward the first two years of a four-year degree program. The degree consists of a total of 60/61 hours in required courses and electives (which must be college transfer classes). BRTC also offers the Associate of Science degree and the Associate of Applied Science degree. Additionally, the college offers Technical Certificates, Certificates of Proficiency and adult education courses. BRTC offers many courses and some full programs through various forms of

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

; the Associate of Applied Science in Registered Nursing courses in nursing theory are done completely by interactive video as part of the Arkansas Rural Nursing Education Consortium (ARNEC), of which BRTC's program is a member. The BRTC Fire Science program is offered in conjunction with the Arkansas Fire Academy.

Accreditation

BRTC is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and its programs have been approved by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education and the Arkansas State Board of Vocational Education. The following programs have received additional accreditation or approval as shown below:

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Universities and colleges established in 1972 Buildings and structures in Randolph County, Arkansas Buildings and structures in Paragould, Arkansas Education in Randolph County, Arkansas Education in Greene County, Arkansas Community colleges in Arkansas 1972 establishments in Arkansas