Arapahoe Community College (ACC) 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 se ...

Littleton, Colorado Littleton is a home rule municipality city located in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Stati ...

. It was founded in 1965 as the first community college to open in the Denver area.

History

The college began after a grass-roots movement by Littleton residents, led by Littleton activist Virginia Baker, to provide post-high school education in the area. Arapahoe Junior College began with 550 students. In 2001, a new campus building in Parker was constructed next to Chaparral High School and opened as the University Center of Chaparral which worked with Arapahoe Community College, the

University of Colorado at Denver The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) is a public research university in Denver, Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system. History University of Colorado System Anschutz Medical Campus The University of Colorado create ...

, and the Douglas County School District. In 2010, it became a part of ACC and was renamed the Arapahoe Community College Parker Campus. After some years of independent operation, ACC joined the

Colorado Community College System The Colorado Community College System is a public community college system in the U.S. state of Colorado. Created by legislation in 1967, it has 13 member institutions and serves more than 163,000 students annually. History The 1937 Junior Col ...

, comprising 13 institutions. In 2013, Frank Lee Earley (one of the founding faculty members) self-published an illustrated memoir, "The View From the Fourth Floor: A Personal History of Arapahoe Community College, 1965–2005", which gives a first-person account of the founding and growth of the college. In 2013, Frank Lee Earley (one of the founding faculty members) self-published an illustrated memoir, ''The View From the Fourth Floor: A Personal History of Arapahoe Community College, 1965–2005''. In January 2017, the college announced plans to construct a $40 million campus in the Meadows community of

Castle Rock, Colorado Castle Rock is a home rule town that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 73,158 at the 2020 United States Census, a 51.68% increase since the 2010 United St ...

. The campus was planned to be a collaborative project between ACC, Colorado State University, and Douglas County School District. Construction on the campus broke ground on May 21, 2018 and opened August 16, 2019.

Academics

ACC enrolls over 21,000 credit and non-credit students yearly across its three campuses in the southern portion of the Greater Denver Metropolitan area. The college has three campuses in the south Denver area, in Littleton, Parker, and Castle Rock. The college offers over 90 degree and certificate programs. In addition to its traditional classroom learning environment, ACC has over 200 courses available online.

Grants and endowments

ACC is one of six community colleges with a Great Books Program"Great Books Program"
Arapahoe Community College. Retrieved July 5, 2015. approved by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. Participants in the program receive a certificate that is recognized by admission councils at many 4-year colleges and universities. In June, 2015, ACC earned a $2.3 million workforce training grant to support its Health Information Technology program (HIT), one of 71 such grants distributed nationwide.

Other campuses

*Parker Campus, opened in 2001, 15653 Brookstone Drive, Parker, Colorado *Castle Rock sturm collaboration campus, opened in 2019, 4500 Limelight Avenue, Castle Rock, Colorado

Notable people

Notable faculty

* E. Allison Hagood, Professor of Psychology, co-author of '' Your Baby's Best Shot''

References

External links

* {{authority control Colorado Community College System Education in Arapahoe County, Colorado Littleton, Colorado Educational institutions established in 1965 1965 establishments in Colorado