Central Lakes 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 campuses in Brainerd and

Staples, Minnesota Staples is a city in Todd and Wadena counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 2,989 at the 2020 census. History Staples developed around a sawmill. The settlement was originally called Staples Mill, and under the latter nam ...

. It is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. The college was formed from the merger of three different colleges: Brainerd Community College (Brainerd Junior College), Brainerd Technical College (Brainerd Technical Institute), and Staples Technical College (Staples Technical Institute).

Campuses

Central Lakes

Central Lakes College in Brainerd includes courses in the liberal arts and sciences with an

Associate in Arts 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 ...

degree and Minnesota Transfer Curriculum for transfers to a four-year college. It also offers

Associate in Science 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 ...

degrees, and technical programs that have

Associate in Applied Science 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 fi ...

degrees, diplomas and certificates to get students in the work world in a short amount of time. The college also included many unique degrees such as

Underwater Diving Underwater diving, as a human activity, is the practice of descending below the water's surface to interact with the environment. It is also often referred to as diving, an ambiguous term with several possible meanings, depending on context ...

along with an assortment of "green" environmental and ecological courses.

Athletics

Central Lakes College is home of the Raiders. There is

NJCAA 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 ...

Volleyball, Football, Basketball, Baseball, Softball, and Golf. The Raiders compete in the

Minnesota College Athletic Conference Minnesota College Athletic Conference (MCAC) - formerly the Minnesota Community College Conference - is a junior college collegiate athletic conference in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and they compete primarily at the N ...

Staples

Staples community college is mostly technical programs with Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degrees, diplomas and certifications including

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...

, heavy equipment operation, photographic technology, and automotive technology as well as a smaller liberal arts program Associate in Arts (AA).

Academics

The college offers the

, and

degrees. It also offers diploma and certificate programs. It is also accredited for its concurrent enrollment programs by the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP). Central Lakes College in Brainerd collaborated with Southwest Minnesota State University to establish a 2 + 2 articulation agreement in Theatre Arts.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Community colleges in Minnesota Education in Crow Wing County, Minnesota Education in Todd County, Minnesota Education in Wadena County, Minnesota Two-year colleges in the United States NJCAA athletics