Maricopa County Community College District
TypePublic community college district
Established1962 (1962)
AccreditationHigher Learning Commission (HLC)
ChancellorSteven Gonzales
Students102,761[1]
ColorsNavy Blue and Black
   
Websitewww.maricopa.edu

The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD), also known as Maricopa Community Colleges, is a public community college district in Maricopa County, Arizona. Headquartered in Tempe, MCCCD is among the largest community college districts in the United States, serving more than 100,000 students each year in the Phoenix metropolitan area.[2]

The programs offered at MCCCD include those leading to a two-year associate degree and occupational certificates, as well as online classes and dual enrollment programs. The cost of tuition for Maricopa County residents is $85 per credit hour, as of the 2022–23 academic year.[3]

History

The Phoenix Union High School District established Phoenix Junior College (now Phoenix College) in 1920 as the first community college in the state of Arizona. In 1960, the state legislature provided for junior college districts in Arizona. The Maricopa County Junior College District was established in 1962 by the approval of county voters, with the new system acquiring Phoenix Junior College.

The system established branch campuses of Phoenix Junior College in the nearby suburbs of Glendale and Mesa; these would subsequently become independent campuses within the system.

Other campuses were established in the following years:

In 1971, the "Junior College" portion of the name was changed to "Community College".

The State Board of Directors for Community Colleges of Arizona presided over the entire statewide community college system until June 2002, when the Arizona Legislature reduced its powers and duties and transferred most oversight to individual community college districts.

In 2010, the various nursing programs at each of the Maricopa Community Colleges coalesced under one standard curriculum and program consortium: "MaricopaNursing.[4]

In September 2016, the Maricopa Skill Center which has three campuses including Buckeye & 12th St, 29th Ave & Bell, and 75th Ave & Peoria were folded into the Gateway Community College brand. The merger of brands was due in part by "shrinking appropriations from the state since 2007, [requiring] more aggressive, intentional actions have taken place to bring the two institutions more in line with one another".[5]

In March 2017, MCCCD moved from a standardized, stepped-compensation system for its staff to a range-based system based on performance. The new system was slated for implementation in July 2017.[6]

In Feb 2018, the MCCCD governing board eliminated the meet-and-confer program which was used as a form of bargaining for employee benefits and compensation, among other purposes. This change resulted in controversy among some MCCCD staff and faculty.[7][8][9]

In Feb 2018, football ceased to be a funded sport at the MCCCD colleges due to lack of available budget.[10] Four months later, a human resources project to harmonize the technology behind the way staff are paid was reported to have resulted in thousands of underpay-overpay errors over the course of 6 months.[11] This problem resulted in a unanimous vote of no-confidence by the faculty senate at each of the MCCCD colleges.[9]

Colleges

College City Mascot Established Enrollment (Fall 2020)[1]
Chandler-Gilbert Community College Chandler Cody the Coyote 1985 13,395
Estrella Mountain Community College Avondale Roary the Mountain Lion 1990 8,768
GateWay Community College Phoenix Geckos 1968 4,670
Glendale Community College Glendale Gauchos 1965 14,374
Mesa Community College Mesa Thor the Thunderbird 1965 16,948
Paradise Valley Community College Phoenix Pumas 1985 6,575
Phoenix College Phoenix Bumstead the Bear 1920 9,538
Rio Salado College Tempe Rio Waves/Splash 1978 17,362
Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale Artie the Artichoke 1969 7,634
South Mountain Community College Phoenix Cougars 1980 3,497
Total: 102,761

Maricopa Corporate College

Founded in 2013, the corporate college provides consultative services to businesses, and continuing education to professionals, and will oversee district entrepreneurial activities and initiatives, such as the business incubator on the GateWay Community College campus. It functions independently of the 10 Maricopa community colleges and two skill centers, while drawing on their faculty and facility resources when appropriate.[12][13]

Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation (CEI)

The Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation constitutes a partnership among the City of Phoenix, the Economic Development Administration and the Maricopa County Community College District, as well as additional public and private partners.[14][15]

Governance and leadership

The district is governed by a governing board, president, chancellor, and provost. The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District has seven members, five elected from geographical districts within the Maricopa County, and two elected at-large positions by the voters of the entire county. The Chancellor of the Maricopa Community Colleges is the CEO of the 10-college system. The presidents at each college and 4 vice chancellors report to the Chancellor, who serves at the pleasure of the Governing Board.

Lectureships

Honors Forum Lectures: The Honors Forum Lecture Series features local and nationally known speakers who address specific issues related to a theme selected by Phi Theta Kappa. The Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) theme is chosen to bring unity to the Honors Program and the national PTK chapters at each college.[16]

Fischl Lecture Series at Phoenix College: The Eric Fischl Lecture Series was launched in 2005 when American painter and sculpture Eric Fischl returned to Phoenix College for the first time since the late 1960s. Fischl, then student, studied at PC under renowned Southwestern landscape artist and faculty member Merrill Mahaffey.[17]

Name confusion

The Maricopa Community College District, or Maricopa Community Colleges for short, is also known as the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD). This is the legal entity name of the district. Some confuse the Maricopa Community Colleges abbreviation for Mesa Community College (MCC), one of the ten Maricopa colleges. The district's official initialism, therefore, is MCCCD, while Mesa's is MCC.

References

  1. 1 2 Leingang, Rachel. "Enrollment Plummets at Maricopa Community Colleges for Fall Semester". AZ Central.
  2. ↑ "2015 Fast Facts - Maricopa Community Colleges". Issuu. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  3. ↑ "Tuition & Fees | Maricopa Community Colleges".
  4. ↑ "Nursing Student Handbook 2018-2019" (PDF). Maricoa.edu. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  5. ↑ "Maricopa Skill Center Adopts GateWay Community College Name". Gatewaycc.edu. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  6. ↑ "Maricopa Community Colleges Giving 'Step' Compensation System the Boot". Diverseeducation.com. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  7. ↑ "MCCCD Board Eliminates 'Meet And Confer' Employee Bargaining Tool". KJZZ. 28 February 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  8. ↑ "Get Access". Azcentral. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  9. 1 2 Tannous, Jesse (17 August 2018). "Students show support for faculty despite the February 2018 MCCCD board vote to end faculty Meet and Confer and RFP". Nevalleynews.org. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  10. ↑ "Get Access". Azcentral. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  11. ↑ "Get Access". Azcentral. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  12. ↑ "Maricopa Community Colleges adding 'corporate college' for business training". Cronkitenewsonline.com. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "Maricopa Community Colleges Creates". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  14. ↑ "Gateway Community College Opens Center". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  15. ↑ "Innovation center is already creating jobs". azcentral. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  16. ↑ "Honors Forum Lectures Series - Maricopa Community Colleges". Mcli.maricopa.edu. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  17. ↑ "Fischl Lecture Series". Phoenix College. Retrieved 21 April 2016.

33°30′50″N 112°28′33″W / 33.51389°N 112.47583°W / 33.51389; -112.47583

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