Doña Ana Community College

Doña Ana Community College
Established 1973[1]
Type Community college
President Renay Scott[2]
Academic staff
 682[1]
Administrative staff
 301
Students Credit: 9,901
Non-credit: 7,073[1]
Location Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States
32°16′34″N 106°45′19″W / 32.2761°N 106.7554°WCoordinates: 32°16′34″N 106°45′19″W / 32.2761°N 106.7554°W
Campus Small city
Website dabcc.nmsu.edu

Doña Ana Community College (DACC) is a community college with several campuses in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, mostly in Las Cruces. The school is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission.[3] DACC was founded in 1973 to provide associates degrees and technical/vocational training to Las Cruces and neighboring communities.[1] Along with Alamogordo Community College, Carlsbad Community College, and Grants Community College, the school is a branch of New Mexico State University.[4]

As of 2011, the school had 9,901 credit students (including part time) and 7,073 non-credit students.[1]

DACC's main campus is in Las Cruces, on 15 acres adjacent to New Mexico State University. The school also has facilities in East Mesa, Anthony, Sunland Park, White Sands, Chaparral, and Hatch. Classes are also offered at local high schools.[5]

In 2012 the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) revoked accreditation for DACC's nursing program. Although New Mexico's board of nursing permitted the program to continue, accreditation is a prerequisite for employment in most hospitals and acceptance into other nursing programs, such as the one at New Mexico State.[6] In 2010 the school had been placed on warning status by the NLNAC for having an inadequate ratio of qualified instructors. A class-action lawsuit filed in 2013 by eight nursing students alleges that the school had not notified students of the warning, and had been made aware of the problem as early as 2002.[7] The nursing department's staffing shortage has been fixed, and the school says the current program is "well within the standards".[3] Accreditation is expected to be announced in July or August 2015.[8][9]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Quick Facts". Doña Ana Community College. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  2. ↑ "DACC announces new vice president of academic affairs". Las Cruces Sun-News. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Dickson, Todd G. (17 October 2014). "Accreditation visit goes well for DACC". The Las Cruces Bulletin. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "New Mexico State University - Fall 2013 Factbook" (PDF). http://oia.nmsu.edu/''. New Mexico State University. 2013. p. 6. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "Campuses & Facilities". Doña Ana Community College. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  6. ↑ Soular, Diana Alba (10 August 2012). "DACC nursing program loses accreditation; questions loom for students". Las Cruces Sun-News. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  7. ↑ Soular, Diana Alba (10 May 2013). "DACC nursing students file class action lawsuit against college". Las Cruces Sun-News. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  8. ↑ Willis, Damien (12 February 2015). "DACC seeks to restore accreditation for troubled nursing program". Las Cruces Sun News. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  9. ↑ Anderson, Lindsey (2 August 2014). "DACC nursing program changed yet similar two years after accreditation loss". Las Cruces Sun-News. Retrieved 6 December 2014.

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