Johnson County Community College - About

About

JCCC is governed by a seven-member board of trustees elected at-large from the community to four-year terms. The board governs the college and sets the budget and local tax levy. Every other year, in odd calendar years, three trustees face re-election.

State legislation has enabled communities to create college districts that are supported by state funding and local taxes. About 54 percent of JCCC's operating funding comes from county taxes and motor vehicle taxes; the remainder comes from student tuition and state aid. JCCC is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association. JCCC is a member of the League for Innovation in the Community College. JCCC offers a full range of undergraduate credit courses that form the first two years of most college curricula. Class size averages 25 to 30 students, which is much lower than at many larger colleges and universities. The college has more than 100 transfer agreements with regional colleges and universities, which assure admittance without loss of time or credit. More than 36 percent of JCCC students enrolled in fall 2011 planned to transfer to another college or university. More than 50 one- and two-year career degree and certificate programs prepare students to enter the job market in high-employment fields.

Eighty-nine percent of respondents to a survey of students who had completed a career program at JCCC in 2010-2011 indicated they were employed full-time, and 96 percent of their employers rated the overall job preparation their employee had received at the college as "good" or "very good." Continuing education classes are available to help county residents hone their working skills or acquire new ones, either for the jobs they hold now or to prepare for new careers. Professional education is offered to individuals who are required by state licensing boards, certifying agencies and professional associations to obtain continuing education units (CEUs). Professions currently served include health and human services, mediation, early childhood educators, payroll and human resources managers, and individuals in technical trades.

Almost 20 percent of Johnson County's recent high school graduates come to JCCC. The college enrolls 21 percent more first-time freshmen from Johnson County than KU and 37 percent more than K-State. Thirty-three percent of Johnson County students who stay in Kansas for college attend JCCC. However, the average age of JCCC's students is 25.9, which means that many older students take JCCC classes, either to fulfill personal goals or to change their lives by acquiring a college education or career training. About 76 percent of JCCC's students reside in Johnson County. Female students make up 55 percent of the student body. About 21 percent are non-Caucasian. About 67 percent of JCCC's students attend classes part-time.

More than 3,200 area high school students take courses for college credit through JCCC's College Now program each semester. Another 1,500 high school Quick Step students enroll in classes on the JCCC campus for college credit. JCCC's College Close to Home program offers general education credit courses off campus in the evenings at high schools in De Soto, Eudora and Gardner Edgert, and at King's Cove, Lawrence Centennial School and KU Edwards Campus.

In addition to transfer/articulation agreements with many four-year colleges and universities in Kansas and Missouri, JCCC has degree completion agreements in place with American Public University, Avila University, Baker University SPGS, Columbia College, DeVry University, Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Friends University, Kansas State University-Distance Learning, MidAmerica Nazarene University, National American University, Ottawa University, Park University, Rockhurst University, Southwestern College-Professional Studies, University of Central Missouri, the University of Kansas Edwards Campus, UMKC, University of Phoenix, University of Saint Mary, Washburn University and Webster University that offer courses in the evening and weekends, online, web-assisted, guided/independent study or a combination of methods of delivery.

Arts education programming is provided for students at their own schools and through the Performing Arts Series and the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art. International education spans the entire range of college activities at JCCC, from credit and continuing education courses to study abroad and an award-winning international service project in Mexico. JCCC offers many international courses in business, humanities and social sciences, and 12 foreign languages and provides opportunities for students to study in one of 30 countries. JCCC's five partner colleges from around the world bring international faculty to the college, and experts on international topics visit the campus each year.

The college has 1,007 full-time faculty and staff. Another 1,926 people work as adjunct faculty or part-time staff. Most faculty members have master's degrees, and many have or are earning doctorates. Faculty and staff have won many awards for excellence.

JCCC's continuing education program is the largest, most comprehensive in the Kansas City area. JCCC's Center for Business and Technology provides contract training in management and supervisory skills and a Supervisory Assessment Center. Training runs the gamut from call center entry level to executive mentoring and coaching. In 2011, the center launched “Discover Your Strengths,” a program designed to help companies identify and maximize employees’ strengths to drive superior business performance. The center has one of the top three computer software and information technology training programs in the metropolitan area. State-of-the-art hardware and software, combined with top instruction, are assets to companies and individuals in Johnson County and the greater Kansas City area. The Center for Business and Technology offers continuous process improvement programs with Lean Six Sigma training and certification. The center boasts enrollments in more than 2,990 certification, recertification and relicensure workshops, seminars, independent study, computer and information technology classes, and contract training events. More than 2,500 employees of nearly 200 area companies take advantage of contract training courses specifically tailored for them and presented at the college or on site at the workplace.

Allied with the major performing arts organizations in greater Kansas City, the Performing Arts Series at Johnson County Community College provides a suburban alterantive for patrons who enjoy attending performing arts events. This multivenue performing arts facility presents one of the largest and most diverse multidiscipline performing arts series in the region, including master classes, workshops and demonstrations with artists from around the world. In addition to the series, the Performing Arts Series supports events sponsored by other JCCC departments as well as activities and performances sponsored by community groups and local arts presents who rent the space. In all, more than 200 events a year are presented in the Performing Arts Series' performance halls. During its 2011-2012 season, more than 48,000 tickets with a value of $914,000 were issued to all performances. Since opening in 1990, more than 1.75 million people have attended Performing Arts Series performances.

The Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art at JCCC is the largest contemporary art museum in the four-state region and the only contemporary art museum in Kansas. The museum houses a range of exhibition spaces, including major exhibition galleries, permanent collection galleries, a new media gallery and an intimate "focus" gallery. In addition, a project gallery is devoted to area artists. The museum also houses Cafe Tempo (seating 110), a 200-seat auditorium, two arts education classrooms for children and adults and a museum shop. JCCC collects contemporary art from around the world. The work of more than 1,000 regional, national and international artists is represented in JCCC's collection, which features a diverse range of painting, photography, clay, sculpture, works on paper and new media. In addition to the museum, the college's collection is installed in "focus" areas in the corridors, dining halls and other highly visible and accessible locations across the campus, sparking a spontaneous engagement with art for students, faculty, staff and visitors. In April 2006, Public Art Review magazine named JCCC one of the top 10 university/college campuses for public art in America, citing the outdoor sculpture and the paintings, ceramics, photography and works on paper installed throughout the campus.

JCCC has an open admissions policy. Students wishing to attend the college must file an application, submit official transcripts and complete an assessment process. Students may register for classes via the Web.

Men and women participate in 18 intercollegiate sports. Men compete in basketball, indoor track, outdoor track, cross country, half marathon, tennis, golf, soccer and baseball. Women compete in basketball, indoor track, outdoor track, cross country, half marathon, tennis, soccer, volleyball and softball. The campus has excellent indoor and outdoor athletic facilities. The indoor facilities include the 3,500-seat gymnasium, the Barbara Gill Lifetime Fitness Center and the Fieldhouse, a 43,000-square-foot area with a 200-meter, six-lane track and a multifunctional area that can be configured for basketball, volleyball and tennis. The outdoor facilities include six tennis courts, baseball/softball diamonds, a 10-lane track and soccer fields. JCCC is sanctioned under the National Junior College Athletic Association and participates in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference. With 10 national championships, 80 top-five national finishes, 121 region titles, 156 conference titles, more than 1,000 All-American athletes, and more than 200 Academic All-American athletes, the Cavaliers are successful both on and off the fields and courts.

To support industry training needs, the college partners with the Kansas Department of Commerce to help companies access workforce training funds. Through this partnership, companies have accessed an estimated $205 million from the Department of Commerce since 1983 to support local workforce development. In 2011 the Small Business Development Center provided free and confidential management consulting and technical assistance to 563 existing and aspiring business owners. Small business training was provided to 955 workshop attendees. The SBDC is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Kansas Department of Commerce and JCCC. In 2012, the KSBDC partnered with the Heartland Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) at Missouri Southern State University to open a PTAC Subcenter at JCCC. The subcenter will assist small businesses in 29 northeastern Kansas counties with potential market expansion through procurement opportunities with the government. The National Higher Education Benchmarking Institute coordinates two national data collection/data sharing consortia: the Kansas Study of Community College Instructional Costs and Productivity and the National Community College Benchmark Project. More than 450 colleges across the country participate in one or both of these projects annually. JCCC’s HITECH (health information technology) program offers two intensive training programs that can be completed within six months. Students are trained for workforce roles that support the adoption of electronic health records in hospitals, medical offices and health care organizations.

Since it was founded, the college has grown tremendously, both in area and population. Many students that attend JCCC later transfer to four-year universities, including the University of Kansas or Kansas State University. JCCC houses a suburban campus and provides excellent facilities for its students.