Northwest Florida State College is a

public college A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...

Niceville, Florida Niceville is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States, located near Eglin Air Force Base on Boggy Bayou that opens into Choctawhatchee Bay. The population was 11,684 at the 2000 census. The 2010 census population for Niceville was 12,7 ...

. It is part of the

Florida College System The Florida College System, previously the Florida Community College System, is a system of 28 public community colleges and state colleges in the U.S. state of Florida. In 2013-14, enrollment consisted of more than 813,000 students. Together w ...

and is accredited by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...

to award associate and baccalaureate degrees. Northwest Florida State College has multiple campuses but has operated continuously on its Niceville campus since 1963. The college also operates a charter high school, the

Collegiate High School at Northwest Florida State College Northwest Florida State College is a public college in Niceville, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate and baccalaureate degrees. Northwest Flo ...

, which opened in 2000.

History

Early history

Northwest Florida State College was founded in 1963 as Okaloosa-Walton Junior College, with its campus in

Valparaiso, Florida Valparaiso is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. As of the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census, the city population was 5,036. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2018 estimates, the city had a popul ...

; students started class the next year. A permanent campus in Niceville was dedicated in April 1969. The school voted to change its name to Okaloosa-Walton Community College in 1988, and gained four-year status in 2003, thus changing its name to Okaloosa-Walton College. In June 2008, Governor

Charlie Crist Charles Joseph Crist Jr. (; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the U.S. representative for from 2017 to 2022. Crist has been a member of the Democratic ...

signed a bill that allowed several community colleges, including OWC, to offer four-year degrees and be considered part of Florida's upper education under the newly formed Florida College Pilot Project, making OWC one of the state colleges in Florida. Due to the change, school officials elected to once again change the name, this time to Northwest Florida State College.

2009 campus shooting

On April 11, 2009, a lone gunman shot a vending machine maintenance worker at the center in DeFuniak Springs. The victim was shot twice in the chest and died from his injuries. The suspect, Thomas McCoy, a former co-worker of the victim, was apprehended and charged and found guilty of first degree murder.

2012 data breach

Between May 21, 2012, and September 24, 2012, a large-scale security breach occurred at the college. The personal information of nearly 300,000 people, including 200,000 who had no connection to the institution, was stolen. Leaked information included names, Social Security numbers, birthdates, gender, and ethnicity as well as payroll and direct deposit information. No one was ever charged in the attack.

Campus locations

As of the 2020-2021 year, Northwest Florida State College operates at six locations. *Niceville Campus (

Okaloosa County Okaloosa County is located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Alabama state line. As of the 2020 census, the population was 211,668. Its county seat is Crestview. Okaloosa County ...

) * Fort Walton Beach Campus (

) * Chautauqua Center (

DeFuniak Springs DeFuniak Springs is a city in Walton County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,968 as of the 2020 Census. The county seat of Walton County, the city also serves as a hub for many residents in surrounding communities. In 2019, MSN's ''I ...

, Walton County) * Robert LF Sikes Center ( Crestview,

) *

Hurlburt Field Hurlburt Field is a United States Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation and is home to Headquarters Air Force Sp ...

Center (

) * South Walton Center ( Walton County)

Collegiate High School at Northwest Florida State College

The Collegiate High School at Northwest Florida State College (CHS) is a

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of auto ...

, established in 2000, that enables 9th-, 10th-, 11th-, and 12th-grade students to simultaneously earn both a standard

high school diploma A high school diploma or high school degree is a North American academic school leaving qualification awarded upon high school graduation. The high school diploma is typically obtained after a course of study lasting four years, from grade 9 to gra ...

and a transferable two-year college degree or transferable college credits. The CHS is a public school and is free of charge to students. College-credit classes, college and high school textbooks, provision for transportation, use of a personal laptop computer, tutoring, and more are all provided at no cost. Students are also allowed to participate in college activities including sports, the Raider Rhythms dance team, and the college's Student Government Association. CHS was named #1 school in Florida for the 2010–2011 school year and a U.S. Department of Education National Blue Ribbon School in 2013.

Mattie Kelly Arts Center

The Mattie Kelly Arts Center is a performing arts and educational complex, with a 1,650-seat main stage theater, a 195-seat Sprint Theater, the Mattie Kelly Art Galleries, a music wing, a visual arts building and the NWFSC amphitheater. The Mattie Kelly Art Galleries consist of the McIlroy Gallery, and Holzhauer Gallery.

Athletics

The school's athletic teams compete in the

Panhandle Conference The Panhandle Conference is a conference within the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 8. The conference consists of four state colleges and one community college located in Florida. Members Member institutions are Chipo ...

of the

Florida State College Activities Association Florida College System Activities Association Incorporated (FCSAA) is the governing body for all extracurricular activities of the member schools of the Florida College System. Activities include athletics, Brain Bowl, forensics, music, publicati ...

, a body of the

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

Region 8.

Notable alumni

References

External links

* {{authority control Educational institutions established in 1963 Florida College System Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools High schools in Okaloosa County, Florida Charter schools in Florida Education in Okaloosa County, Florida Public high schools in Florida 1963 establishments in Florida