Rio Salado College is a public

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 ...

headquartered in

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

United States. It is part of the

Maricopa County Community College District The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD), also known as Maricopa Community Colleges, is a community college district in Arizona with its headquarters in Tempe. It is one of the largest, serving more than 220,000 students each yea ...

and 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 ...

. It offers associate degree and certificate programs in online, in-person, and hybrid formats.

History

Rio Salado College was founded on March 14, 1978 as one of 10

Maricopa Community Colleges The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD), also known as Maricopa Community Colleges, is a community college district in Arizona with its headquarters in Tempe. It is one of the largest, serving more than 220,000 students each yea ...

. At the time, the college offered remote classrooms in 180 facilities throughout the Valley of the Sun. Rio Salado College offered its first online classes in 1996 and by 2006 had converted a majority of its course offerings to an online format. The school is recognized as a leader in higher education innovation, specializing in online education and distance learning.

Accreditation

Rio Salado College is accredited by

Campuses

Tempe Headquarters

The administrative headquarters of Rio Salado College are in Tempe, Arizona. Rio Salado relocated from its original location in Phoenix to Tempe in 1996. The Tempe location houses three main buildings: The Conference Center at Rio, the Tower at Rio, and the Rio at Hohokam administrative building.

Satellite Locations

Rio Salado College is affiliated with 15 physical locations across Maricopa county including 11 RSC locations, two Communiversities, SPOT 127 Youth Media Center and the East Valley Veterans Education Center. Services and hours of operation vary by location. The college also provides educational services through its incarcerated re-entry program at ASPC-Lewis and ASPC-Perryville. In addition to College Bridge Pathways programming that includes: Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, Adults Achieving a College Education, High School Equivalency preparation, English Language Acquisition for Adults and STAR-Path Model options at Avondale, RSC Lifelong Learning Center, and RSC Thomas.

School of Dental Hygiene

The Rio Salado College School of Dental Hygiene offers an accredited

dental hygiene Oral hygiene is the practice of keeping one's mouth clean and free of disease and other problems (e.g. bad breath) by regular brushing of the teeth (dental hygiene) and cleaning between the teeth. It is important that oral hygiene be carried out ...

program. The school has been training students since 1998. It is a partnership between Rio Salado College, The

Arizona Dental Association The Arizona Dental Association (AzDA) is a constituent society of the American Dental Association that encourages improvements in public oral health and promotes the art and science of dentistry through leadership, education and information. AzD ...

and

Delta Dental Insurance Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also r ...

. The School of Dental Hygiene moved from the West Valley to its current location at the Tempe HQ in 2012.

Notable alumni

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, pornographic actress

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Maricopa County Community College District Distance education institutions based in the United States Education in Tempe, Arizona Educational institutions established in 1978 Community colleges in Arizona Buildings and structures in Tempe, Arizona Universities and colleges in Maricopa County, Arizona