South Mountain 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 ''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 sec ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the onl ...

. It is one of the ten colleges in 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 ...

History

South Mountain Community College was established by the governing board of the Maricopa County Community College District on April 18, 1978. The campus was designed by local architect Bennie Gonzales, opening its doors in 1980. Serving Phoenix, Ahwatukee, Guadalupe and Laveen, South Mountain Community College offers associate degrees, certificates of completion, courses that transfer to universities and technology training to 7,500 students each year. The college takes its name from South Mountain, which is a few kilometers to the south of campus. The main campus is in

, with additional locations in Guadalupe and Laveen. South Mountain Community College 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 ...

and is a

Hispanic Serving Institution A Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) is defined in federal law as an accredited, degree-granting, public or private nonprofit institution of higher education with 25% or more total undergraduate Hispanic or Latino full-time equivalent (FTE) stud ...

Community library

A new Library was constructed and opened in the beginning of the fall semester of 2011. This library is not only for student use, but doubles as a branch of the

Phoenix Public Library The Phoenix Public Library is a municipal library system serving Phoenix, Arizona, and operated by the city of Phoenix. There are 16 branches currently in operation citywide, anchored by the flagship Burton Barr Central Library on the northern e ...

, and as such, open to the general public. Within the of the library there is a cyber cafe, a teen space, a collection with over 110,000 pieces, a dedicated children's area/story time, as well as quiet reading/study areas. This new library was designed by Richard Bauer.

Northern Arizona University at South Mountain Community College

Northern Arizona University (NAU) and South Mountain Community College (SMCC) collaborate to allow students to complete their bachelor's degree on the SMCC campus after finishing their associate degree. NAU maintains a building on the SMCC campus and offers bachelor's degree programs.

Notable alumni

* Chris Duffy * Cody Ransom

References

External links