Norco College is a community college, located in southwestern Riverside County, in Norco, California. Each year Norco College serves over 13,000 students from the cities of Norco, Corona, and Eastvale, as well as surrounding communities. Norco College is part of the Riverside Community College District (RCCD), which is part of the larger California Community Colleges System.
Norco College is one of three colleges within The Riverside Community College District: Norco College, Moreno Valley College and Riverside City College (RCC). The oldest of the three institutions is Riverside City College, which was established in 1916 in Riverside, California. The District's three colleges and satellite learning centers together serve over 50,000 students each year in a 540-square-mile (1,400 km2) region of California’s Western Riverside County.
History
Norco man accused of posting school shooting threats on Facebook | ABC7 - A 27-year-old Norco man was arrested for allegedly making threats to shoot people at a local college campus. A loaded AR-15 was found in his bedroom.
Preparation for the establishment of Norco College began in the 1980s, when the Riverside Community College District paid the U.S. government one dollar to acquire a 141-acre (57 ha) parcel of land. (The college is on land once associated with The Hotel Norconian, a luxury resort that was acquired by the United States Navy in December, 1941; it was converted into a military hospital during World War II. Today the original hotel property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is currently home to the U.S. Navy’s Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division.)
RCCD opened the Norco Campus in April 1991, with an intent to meet the needs of students in the rapidly growing cities of Corona and Norco. The campus enrolled 3,088 students in its first semesterâ€"an opening scheduled to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the parent Riverside institution.
The Norco Campus experienced rapid growth in enrollment. By fall 1994, student headcount was 3,782; by fall 2000, it was 6,681. By 2003, the Board of Trustees of Riverside Community College District had begun to implement changes that would enable the Norco campus to achieve full college accreditation. Enrollment in fall 2008 exceeded 10,000 students.
In January, 2010, Norco College received full accreditation from Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), to become 112th accredited college in the state of California Community College System.
Mascot
The mascot of Norco College is the Mustang, an icon which reflects the "Horsetown USA" character of Norco.
Demographics
According to the Institutional Research Office of the Riverside Community College District, in the 2009-2010 academic year a total of 10,951 students were enrolled at Norco College.
Student headcount by gender determined that 57% were female, and 42% were male (1% nonrespondent).
In fall 2010, Norco College had 66 full-time faculty (i.e. tenured, or tenure-track) and 183 part-time faculty.
Career & Technical Education
What is CTE?
Career & Technical Education (CTE) at Norco College offers Certificate Programs and Associate of Science Degrees with an occupational emphasis. These programs offer the education and training necessary to lead individuals directly to employment, update the knowledge and skills of current workers, and/or lead to further academic growth at 4-year universities.
The CTE programs at Norco College strive to keep current with labor market and industry trends. By bringing together local employers, faculty, staff and students our curriculum is ever changing to meet the demands of an increasingly competitive job market.
CTE Mission
Career & Technical Education at Norco College provides technical and academic skills designed to prepare learners to pursue a successful career in an increasingly competitive job market, further educational opportunity and promote lifelong learning.
CTE Programs (current or in development)
- Administration of Justice
- Architecture
- Business Administration
- Accounting
- General Business
- Human Resources
- Logistics Management
- Management
- Marketing
- Real Estate
- Commercial Music
- Performance
- Recording Engineering
- Composition
- Game Audio
- Computer Information Systems
- C++ Programming
- Computer Applications
- Computer Programming
- Desktop Publishing
- Java Programming Certificate
- Webmaster
- Construction Technology
- Drafting Technology
- Engineering
- Engineering Technology
- Engineering Technician
- Engineering Graphics
- Early Child Education
- Electronics
- Electronics Computer Systems
- Electronics Technology
- General Electronics Core
- Logistics/Distribution
- Logistics Management
- Supply Chain Technology
- Manufacturing
- Automated Systems Technician
- Computer-Aided Production Technician
- Mobile Application Development
- Motion Graphics
- Retail Management/WAFC
- Simulation & Game Development
- Game Art
- Game Design
- Game Programming
- Game Audio
Grant Awards and Special Funding
Measure C
In March 2004, voters in the Riverside Community College District approved a $350 million bond measure to support the acquisition and modernization of classroom buildings and other facilities on RCCD sites.
A portion of the RCCD Measure C funds were allocated to Norco College, and to date have funded the installation of an artificial turf soccer field and the construction of two new buildings:
- Industrial Technology Building (June 2009)
- Norco College Center for Student Success (October 2010)
Title V
Since 2009, Norco College has been awarded two separate multi-million U.S. Government Title V grants. The Title V program is designed to support Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) of higher education (such as Norco College) and help these institutions expand educational opportunities for Hispanic students.
In October 2009, Norco College received a $2.8 million five-year grant to enable creation of a Game Art program with tracks for Game Design, Game Programming, and Game Audio. A second component of the grant is the integration of games, simulations, and electronic portfolios into other transfer and career tech programs to increase student success and retention.
In October, 2011, Norco College was awarded an additional five-year $3.8 million Title V grant to support development of new programs. Norco College is partnering with California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB), to create complementary academic programs in the fields of in commercial music, new media, game programming, and mobile application developmentâ€"all structured to provide a seamless transition from the community college to baccalaureate level courses and degrees.
References
External links
- Norco College official webpage.
- Facebook page
- Riverside Community College District