Doña Ana Community College 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 ''Öffentlichkei ...

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 sec ...

with several campuses in

Doña Ana County, New Mexico Doña Ana County is located in the southern part of the State of New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 219,561, which makes it the second-most populated county in New Mexico. Its county seat is Las Cruces, th ...

. It was established in 1973 at the request of the Gadsden, Hatch, and Las Cruces school boards to provided vocational and technical education opportunities to the citizens of Doña Ana County. It is independently accredited by

The Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

. The community college offers instruction leading to associate degrees and technical certificates and preparation for further academic work. It is a branch of

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

. Doña Ana Community College has six campuses, with three in Las Cruces, and one each in

Anthony Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonia (gens), Antonii'', a ''gens'' (Roman naming conventions, Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were ...

, Sunland Park, and

Chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

. Dual credit classes are also offered in conjunction with local high schools. As of 2017, the school had 10,644 credit students (including part-time) and 3,498 non-credit students.

Campus

Doña Ana Community College has six campuses and centers located throughout Doña Ana County. Espina and East Mesa Campuses and the Workforce Center are located in Las Cruces. The Gadsden campus is located in

, with Sunland Park, and

campuses located in their respective communities in the southern part of Doña Ana County. The East Mesa Campus located on the northeast side of Las Cruces and houses most of the general education programs, criminal justice, culinary, business, creative media, and information technology programs. The Espina Campus is located on the west side of the New Mexico State University main campus, and is the main location for the health and trades programs. The Workforce Center is located in central Las Cruces and offers customized training for employee development and career and technical training, such as truck driving and industry certifications. The Gadsden Center located in the southeastern portion of the county offers general education and adult education programs. The Sunland Park Center in Santa Teresa offers general education, adult basic education, and welding. The Chaparral location offers classes in adult basic education and continuing education. Dual credit programs are also offered in conjunction with local high schools.

Accreditation

The school is accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

. Several programs at Doña Ana Community College have specialized accreditation: *

American Dental Association The American Dental Association (ADA) is an American professional association established in 1859 which has more than 161,000 members. Based in the American Dental Association Building in the Near North Side of Chicago, the ADA is the world's ...

– Commission on Dental Accreditation * American Design Drafting Association *

American Welding Society The American Welding Society (AWS) was founded in 1919 as a non-profit organization to advance the science, technology and application of welding and allied joining and cutting processes, including brazing, soldering and thermal spraying. Headqu ...

* Accreditation Commission on Education in Nursing *

Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), formerly the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs, is a U.S. organization offering accreditation services to business programs focused on teaching and learni ...

Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) is a non-profit accreditation organization dedicated to Respiratory Care. CoARC accredits degree-granting programs in respiratory care that have undergone a rigorous process of voluntary pee ...

Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, (or CAAHEP), is an accreditation agency for postsecondary education programs in 30 health science fields. Programmatic accreditation is granted after an education program is reviewed ...

* International Fire Service Accreditation Congress *

Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

* Joint Review Commission for Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography * Automotive Service Excellence Education Foundation * The National Center for Construction Education and Research

Nursing program

In 2012, the

National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission The National League for Nursing (NLN) is a national organization for faculty nurses and leaders in nurse education. It offers faculty development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives ...

revoked

accreditation Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

for the college's

nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

program. Although the New Mexico Board of Nursing permitted the program to continue, accreditation is a prerequisite for employment in most hospitals and acceptance into other nursing programs, such as the one at New Mexico State. In 2010 the school had been placed on warning status by the commission for having an inadequate ratio of qualified instructors. A lawsuit filed in 2013 by eight nursing students alleges that the school had not notified students of the warning, and had been made aware of the problem as early as 2002. In May 2015, a state judge ruled that the lawsuit would become a

class action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...

, and would include the 100 students enrolled at the time. In August 2015, it was announced that accreditation had been fully restored. This applied retroactively to students who graduated the previous May.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dona Ana Community College New Mexico State University Community colleges in New Mexico Education in Doña Ana County, New Mexico Buildings and structures in Doña Ana County, New Mexico 1973 establishments in New Mexico Educational institutions established in 1973