 | |
| Type | Public community college |
|---|---|
| Established | August 15, 1989 |
| President | Dr. Dennis C. Rittle |
| Students | 9,475 (Fall 2022) |
| Location | , , United States 36°21′30″N94°10′21″W / 36.35824°N 94.17249°W |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Mascot | Eagles |
| Website | www.nwacc.edu |
NorthWest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) is a public community college with its main campus in Bentonville, Arkansas. Total enrollment for the fall semester of 2018 was 8,308. [1]
NWACC was founded by voters in the Bentonville and Rogers Public School Districts on August 15, 1989, when they passed by a 65-percent margin a 3-mill property tax to support the new institution. NWACC opened its doors to 1,200 students in August 1990 and has in excess of 8,300 college credit students (Fall 2018), making it one of the largest and fastest growing two-year colleges in Arkansas. An additional 7,000 students are served by non-credit courses throughout the service area. [2] [3] [1]
In the early days, NWACC was known as the "College without walls" because it solved the problem of not having enough "bricks and mortar" funding to build classrooms by conducting classes in a variety of buildings throughout the community. [4]
Faculty often had to transport learning materials, equipment, and even laboratory specimen in their personal vehicles from one location to another to meet with students.
Northwest Arkansas Community College offers many areas of study leading to associate degrees. [5] and also provides the option to take online classes. NWACC is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. [6] As of 2019 NWACC operates a Transition Academic Program with the University of Arkansas to allow students to enroll, take courses and share credits at both schools, while simultaneously pursuing an associate degree at NWACC and a bachelor's degree at the University of Arkansas. [7]
The main campus of Northwest Arkansas Community College is located directly off of highway I-49. The main campus includes ShewMaker Center for Global Business Development, [8] Center for Health Professions, [9] and a nature preserve.
After beginning as the culinary program within NWACC, Brightwater was officially launched in early 2017 as separate operational entity, while still being a part of NWACC. The college is known for its emphasis on local food culture and the development of the "High South Cuisine" concept, which focuses on local, farm to table approach. [10]
Brightwater officially opened in the 8th Street Market district of Bentonville within a former Tyson Foods chicken processing plant, allowing the enrollment to grow from a few dozen students to a maximum of 350. [11]
The Brightwater facility and the 8th Street Market won the American Institute of Architects Central Excellence in Design award for 2017. [12]
The Washington County Center in Springdale opened in 2019, consolidating operations from other sites in Springdale and Farmington at the new building near Arvest Ballpark and Arkansas Children's Hospital Northwest. The Washington County Center site in west Springdale was selected to improve access for the 36% of NWACC students residing in Washington County, as well as Siloam Springs students. The new building contains 14 classrooms, three labs, and an event space. A nursing simulation lab will increase the size of the nursing program. [13]
There are 23 registered student organizations on campus including honor societies, business, special interest, religious, international and cultural organizations, and many more. The Student Government Association (SGA) is the student body leadership organization which aims to represent both NWACC and NWACC students. Members host several student events each year, are student advocates, and also work with NWACC staff, faculty, administration to help make the student experience better.
Washington County is a regional economic, educational, and cultural hub in the Northwest Arkansas region. Created as Arkansas's 17th county on November 30, 1848, Washington County has 13 incorporated municipalities, including Fayetteville, the county seat, and Springdale. The county is also the site of small towns, bedroom communities, and unincorporated places. The county is named for George Washington, the first President of the United States.
Bentonville is the ninth-most populous city in the US state of Arkansas, and the county seat of Benton County. The city is centrally located in the county with Rogers adjacent to the east. The city is the birthplace and headquarters of Walmart, the world's largest retailer. It is one of the four main cities in the three-county Northwest Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ranked 105th in terms of population in the United States with 546,725 residents in 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau. The city itself had a population of 54,164 at the 2020 Census, an increase of 53% from the 2010 Census. Bentonville is considered to be one of the fastest growing cities in the state and consistently ranks amongst the safest cities in Arkansas.
Centerton is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. Located west of Bentonville on Highway 102, Centerton has grown from a railroad stop and fruit orchard community in the early 20th century into a suburban bedroom community within the rapidly growing Northwest Arkansas (NWA) region. The city's population has grown from 491 in 1990 to 16,244 in 2019. Centerton is considered to be one of the fastest growing cities in Arkansas and consistently ranks amongst the safest cities in the state.
Springdale is the fourth-most populous city in Arkansas, United States. It is located in both Washington and Benton counties in Northwest Arkansas. Located on the Springfield Plateau deep in the Ozark Mountains, Springdale has long been an important industrial city for the region. In addition to several trucking companies, the city is home to the world headquarters of Tyson Foods, the world's largest meat producing company. Originally named Shiloh, the city changed its name to Springdale when applying for a post office in 1872. It is included in the four-county Northwest Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ranked 102nd in terms of population in the United States with 546,725 in 2020 according to the United States Census Bureau. The city had a population of 84,161 at the 2020 Census.
Fayetteville is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city had a population of 93,949 as of the 2020 census, which was estimated to have increased to 101,680 by 2023. The city is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, deep within the Ozarks. It was named after Fayetteville, Tennessee, from which many settlers had come, and was incorporated on November 3, 1836. Fayetteville is included in the three-county Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers metropolitan statistical area, with 576,403 residents in 2020.
Alice Louise Walton is an American heiress to the fortune of Walmart as daughter of founder Sam Walton. In September 2016, she owned over $11 billion in Walmart shares. As of November 2023, Walton has a net worth of $71 billion, making her the 17th richest person and the second-richest woman in the world according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, after Françoise Bettencourt Meyers.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is a public health sciences university in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is part of the University of Arkansas System and consists of six colleges, seven institutes, several research centers, a statewide network of community education centers, and the UAMS Medical Center.
Marylhurst University was a private applied liberal arts and business university in Marylhurst, Oregon. Marylhurst was founded as St. Mary's College in 1893 and run for many years by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The former campus is located about nine miles south of Portland, Oregon on the Willamette River. Although Marylhurst University was a Roman Catholic school, it served students of all faiths and backgrounds.
Green River College is a public community college in Auburn, Washington, United States. It has a student body of over 13,000 and has satellite campuses in nearby cities of Kent and Enumclaw, Washington. The college primarily awards associates degrees but also offers 9 bachelor's degrees.
Georgia Highlands College is a public college in northwest Georgia. It has locations in Floyd County, Cartersville, Marietta, and Dallas and serves the northwest parts of Georgia, as well as parts of east Alabama and southeast Tennessee. A member of the University System of Georgia, the college was originally a community college and has since expanded to also offer bachelor degrees. Between 5,700 and 6,100 students are enrolled at GHC in any given semester, representing 49 different countries. In 2020, the college had a record high number of graduates and an economic impact of over $181 million.
Peninsula College is a public community college in Port Angeles, Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula. It is part of the Washington Community and Technical Colleges system and offers Bachelor of Applied Science in Management and Behavioral Healthcare degrees, transfer Associate degree programs, professional-technical degrees and certificates, community education courses, and pre-college courses. It also has distance education and online learning options.
South Puget Sound Community College is a public community college in southwest Olympia, Washington. The college contains 125 acres (0.51 km2) and is serving about 5,300 full and part-time students as of the fall 2020 quarter.
Bentonville Schools is a comprehensive community school district serving students in kindergarten through 12th grade from Bentonville, Arkansas, in Benton County. Bentonville Schools encompasses 141.54 square miles (366.6 km2) of land, including most of Bentonville, and portions of Bella Vista, Cave Springs, Centerton, Gravette, Highfill, Little Flock, Rogers, and Springdale.
The Oregon College of Art and Craft (OCAC) was a private art college from 1907 to 2019 in Portland, Oregon, United States.
The four-state area or quad-state area is where the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma almost touch: Arkansas and Kansas share no boundary. The metropolitan areas of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Joplin, Missouri; and Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers, Arkansas are in the region. Notable cities and towns in the area are Tulsa and Miami, Oklahoma; Pittsburg, Kansas; Joplin, Springfield, and Monett, Missouri; and Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville, Arkansas.
The Sam M. Walton College of Business is the business school at the University of Arkansas, a public research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Created in 1926, the college is the second-largest college at the University of Arkansas, with over 5,000 undergraduate students as of Fall 2016. Walton College offers undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs and is known nationally for its strong programs in retail, finance, information systems, and supply chain management. U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks Walton College among the top business schools in the country. The college has a close relationship with Walmart Stores, Inc., based in nearby Bentonville, Arkansas, and related vendor community.
Northwest Arkansas (NWA) is a metropolitan area and region in Arkansas within the Ozark Mountains. It includes four of the ten largest cities in the state: Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville, the surrounding towns of Benton and Washington counties, and adjacent rural Madison County, Arkansas. The United States Census Bureau-defined Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers Metropolitan Statistical Area includes 3,213.01 square miles (8,321.7 km2) and 590,337 residents, ranking NWA as the 98th most-populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. and the 13th fastest growing in the United States.
Arkansas State University-Beebe is a public community college in Arkansas.
There is a population of Marshallese people in Northwest Arkansas, concentrated in Springdale.
Walton Family Foundation is an American private foundation and the main philanthropic organization of the Walton family. It was created in 1987 by Walmart founder Sam Walton and his wife Helen Walton. As of 2023, the foundation's giving focuses on environmental and educational causes, as well as supporting communities in Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta. The board of directors includes four members of the Walton family, and Stephanie Cornell serves as the foundation's executive director.
