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2024-25 Catalog 
  
    Dec 02, 2024  
2024-25 Catalog

About PCC



Welcome to Pueblo Community College

You’ve Made the Right Choice!

For 90 years, Pueblo Community College (PCC) has provided the education and training that gives our students the skills they need to qualify for good jobs or transfer to a four-year school. We are a two-year community college accredited by The Higher Learning Commission. We are one of 13 colleges in the Colorado Community College System, the fastest-growing educational system in Colorado. We offer more than 60 associate degree programs, more than 90 certificates, and seven (7) Bachelor of Applied Science degrees, and a Bachelor of Science Nursing degree. We are a state leader in health care education.

Pueblo Community College has four locations to serve students’ educational needs. The main campus is located in Pueblo and serves Pueblo County. The Fremont Campus, located in Cañon City, serves Fremont and Custer counties. Pueblo Community College has locations in southwest Colorado. The Pueblo Community College Southwest Campus is located on Highway 160 between Mancos and Cortez and the Pueblo Community College Southwest Site is located in Durango and serves Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma and San Juan counties.

The median age of our students is 27 years, of whom 16 percent are new first-time college students. In 2022, 67 percent of students were first generation, 69 percent were female, 38 percent were Hispanic, and 49 percent were minority. Approximately 60 percent of students receive some kind of financial assistance in the form of grants, scholarships, work-study jobs and/or student loans. The US Department of Education has designated PCC as a Hispanic-Serving Institution.

We offer a variety of scheduling alternatives to meet your needs. You can choose among day or evening classes, weekend classes and online/hybrid classes and degree programs. To support your education, we offer professional advising services, as well as a wide range of academic support services such as tutoring, learning labs, workshops and adaptive services for those with disabilities. Our services include the PCC Health Clinic the Dental Hygiene Clinic, Cosmetology, Simulation Center and the Anatomy Lab, located on the Pueblo campus. Health services at the Southwest campus are offered as scheduled.

If you are pursuing a four-year degree, PCC is a great place to spend your first two years of study. Our Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees are fully transferable to all Colorado public four-year institutions. We offer small classes, plenty of academic support and highly experienced instructors who are focused on helping you succeed.

PCC is a technologically advanced school that aims to provide a skilled and educated workforce to industry through its Gorsich Advanced Technology Center and Health Program facilities. Our partnerships with business and industry help provide the state-of-the-art equipment that enables students to acquire the highly technical skills needed to step right into the workforce upon graduating. PCC also offers hybrid courses. These classes provide an exciting and entertaining mix of learning environments that include blending a part of the traditional classroom with online instruction.

At PCC, you can earn the first two years of coursework towards a teaching degree. We offer Associate of Arts degrees in elementary education, elementary education with an Early Childhood endorsement and secondary education in science, math, English, social sciences, arts and music.

If you like working with people and want to be a social worker or psychologist, PCC is a great place to start. We offer social work classes that transfer to accredited social work programs across the nation. PCC also has great psychology classes that can jump start your path to a career as a psychologist.

PCC partners with a Small Business Development Center, providing free business services to new and prospective small business owners in Pueblo, Fremont and Custer counties. Through our Pueblo Corporate College we offer corporate training, lifelong learning and professional development classes. Our Pre-College Department provides the Gateway to College Program and GED preparation classes.

Established in 1981, the Pueblo Community College Foundation has supported learning for thousands of students. The foundation is committed to working with the college to bring positive changes to the lives of individuals, families and communities.

The Foundation’s mission is to align funding for Pueblo Community College through Foundation-approved efforts that support and promote student success. Since its inception, the Foundation has raised more than $50 million to support PCC, its student scholars and its programs of academic excellence.

The PCC Foundation is honored to have the opportunity to work with alumni, businesses, individuals, and organizations in an effort to advance Pueblo Community College and the advancement of higher education in southern Colorado.

For more information on the PCC Foundation, please visit our Website or contact us via phone 719.544.0677 or email to Martha.simmons@pueblocc.edu.

Foundation Mailing Address:
900 W. Orman Avenue
Pueblo, CO 81004
Foundation Physical Address:
1018 W. Orman Avenue
Pueblo, CO 81004
719.544.0677

Vision

Pueblo Community College is the first choice for success.

Mission

Pueblo Community College transforms lives, enriches communities and strengthens the regional economy by empowering individual achievement through a continuum of education.

Core Values

  • Achievement: We embrace a diverse student body attending our institution of higher education and support all individuals in attaining high-quality postsecondary credentials across our academic disciplines. Through our retention efforts across the college, we work to keep students engaged and focused on completing their coursework to become highly skilled professionals and gain the most from their educational pursuits to achieve success in the workforce by meeting the demands of a global economy.
     
  • Excellence: We embrace continuous quality improvement and innovation in all areas of the institution. We deliver high-quality programs and services that respond to the needs of the communities we serve and prepare students for success in an ever-changing, diverse and global workplace.
     
  • Integrity: We advance our mission ethically and responsibly. We value fair and equitable treatment, participatory decision making and transparent resource management. We have an organizational culture that inspires high performance and accountability for behaviors, actions and results in a collaborative spirit.
     
  • Respect: We provide a safe, caring and supportive environment conducive to the success and well-being of students, faculty and staff. We welcome diversity of backgrounds and opinions, recognize individual talents, encourage personal and professional growth, celebrate accomplishments and honor institutional traditions.
     
  • Scholarship: We value and promote student, faculty and staff scholarship. We strive to create a student-centered learning environment that cultivates critical and creative thinking, problem solving, intellectual inquiry and global awareness. Through continuing development, we expect faculty and staff to be productive workers, responsible decision makers and servant leaders. We believe that scholarship should occur in all organizational levels through knowledge sharing and effective communication.
     
  • Teamwork: We believe inclusive cooperative relationships are critical to the vitality and long-term success of our institution. We strategically pursue mutually beneficial partnerships to help students learn and advance other institutional priorities. We encourage active collaboration within and between departments and operational areas. We believe in the importance of nurturing student-to-student and student-to-faculty/staff interactions as a means of promoting student success.

Purposes

  • Prepare students for entry into the workforce, career advancement or career change through certificate and associate degree programs
  • Prepare students for transfer to baccalaureate institutions by providing transfer degrees, courses and services
  • Provide opportunities to develop and continually update job skills to meet the demands of a technological and global economy
  • Provide programs and experiences that foster individual and professional development
  • Prepare students for entry-level college courses
  • Provide comprehensive services to support the educational experience of a diverse student population
  • Deliver instruction through traditional, alternative and distance learning methods
  • Provide a quality learning environment supported by teaching excellence and freedom of inquiry
  • Support the economic development of the community through business initiatives and partnerships
  • Contribute to the community by participating in civic and professional activities

General Education Philosophy

General education at Pueblo Community College is an integral and important part of the student’s college experience. General education provides degree-seeking students with a core of basic knowledge, critical thinking skills, intellectual concepts and attitudes that will enable them to function effectively in the community. General education also serves as a foundation to promote lifelong learning.

PCC Assessment of Student Learning

Assessment of Student Learning is a comprehensive initiative to evaluate learning with respect to goals and outcomes that we value and desire for our students and graduates. PCC aims to strengthen its programs by offering students plentiful and varied opportunities to develop, reinforce, and master these competencies throughout their studies.

Successful and meaningful Assessment of Student Learning is collaborative and faculty-driven, requiring the participation of all who are interested in the quality of the educational experience we offer at Pueblo Community College, including students, faculty, administrators, and community partners.

Institutional Student Learning Outcomes (ISLOs)

PCC’s shared college-wide goals for student learning are known as Institutional Student Learning Outcomes (ISLOs). All programs emphasize experiences that promote learning in the following six areas. Upon completing a course of study at PCC, students will be able to demonstrate mastery of these core skills:

  1. Critical Thinking & Problem Solving: the ability to interpret and analyze information, explore implications, construct logical conclusions, and consider alternate perspectives and solutions.
  2. Effective Communication: the ability to organize and express ideas clearly, purposefully, and compellingly, attending to the needs of the audience and following disciplinary conventions.
  3. Quantitative Reasoning: the ability to perform computations, represent and interpret numerical information, and formulate reasonable solutions through quantitative analysis.
  4. Literacy: the ability to recognize, locate, evaluate, and select suitable information and materials for the application of proper methods in order to accomplish tasks.
  5. Professionalism: the ability to demonstrate accountability, personal growth, integrity, and professional behavior.
  6. Social Consciousness: the ability to participate productively in a diverse global society through effective interpersonal skills, cultural awareness, civic responsibility, and equitable and inclusive practices.

At Pueblo Community College, we believe that the systematic assessment of student learning is perhaps the most important aspect of teaching and knowing whether students are learning what we want them to learn as they graduate from a program of study or complete a course. Through assessment activities, faculty and administration may identify key areas of needed improvement in program or course design to improve student learning. Our accrediting body, the Higher Learning Commission, expects that we assess institutional student learning outcomes (ISLOs), program student learning outcomes (PSLOs) and course student learning outcomes (CSLOs) each year on a cycle determined by the faculty. In an effort to record student performance on these outcomes, PCC has adopted the nationally recognized elumen Assessment Management System to facilitate and record our results. The college publishes an annual report on the Assessment of Student Learning to inform all stakeholders of our results and recommended improvements. The PCC Assessment Committee, composed primarily of full-time faculty, develops the assessment plan, establishes the assessment cycle, and provides training materials. Each academic division also has an assessment lead to help faculty complete their assessment tasks each year. The chief academic officer (CAO) and the academic deans support college-wide assessment efforts by providing resources in the form of people, professional development and dedicated time to work on assessment activities.

Higher Learning Commission Open Pathway

The Open Pathway is one of two options institutions have for maintaining their accreditation with HLC. It follows a 10-year cycle and, like the Standard Pathway, is focused on quality assurance and institutional improvement. The Open Pathway is unique in that its improvement component, the Quality Initiative, affords institutions the opportunity to pursue improvement projects that meet their current needs and aspirations.

PCC Promise

  • To always recognize and greet you with a smile
  • To listen to you
  • To respond to your needs
  • To respect and value you
  • To celebrate your accomplishments and successes
  • To care for your health and safety in everything we do

Colorado Student Bill of Rights (C.R.S. 23-1-125)

Student bill of rights. The general assembly hereby finds that students enrolled in public institutions of higher education shall have the following rights:

(a) Students should be able to complete their associate of arts and associate of science degree programs in no more than sixty credit hours or their baccalaureate programs in no more than one hundred twenty credit hours unless there are additional degree requirements recognized by the commission;

(b) A student can sign a two-year or four-year graduation agreement that formalizes a plan for that student to obtain a degree in two or four years, unless there are additional degree requirements recognized by the commission;

(c) Students have a right to clear and concise information concerning which courses must be completed successfully to complete their degrees;

(d) Students have a right to know which courses are transferable among the state public two-year and four-year institutions of higher education;

(e) Students, upon completion of core general education courses, regardless of the delivery method, should have those courses satisfy the core course requirements of all Colorado public institutions of higher education;

(f) Students have a right to know if courses from one or more public higher education institutions satisfy the students’ degree requirements;

(g) A student’s credit for the completion of the core requirements and core courses shall not expire for ten years from the date of initial enrollment and shall be transferrable.

History of the College

Origins

Pueblo Community College traces its origin to 1933, when Southern Colorado Junior College (SCJC) was incorporated. SCJC classes were held on the top floor of the Pueblo County Courthouse and graduated the first class of 17 students in 1935. In 1936 the first building on the current Orman Avenue campus was built on land donated by the Colorado Fuel and Iron Corporation. One year later, local citizens made a commitment to support the institution with county taxes and organized the Pueblo County Junior College District. The institution was renamed Pueblo Junior College.

Pueblo County voters approved $210,000 for building facilities in 1938 and, over the next two years, work was completed on an Arts Building and a gymnasium. In 1946, the institution gained approval for vocational rehabilitation training and a new vocational-technical building opened four years later. The school was renamed Pueblo College.

Establishment of Southern Colorado State College

The Pueblo Junior College District was dissolved in 1961 when Colorado’s General Assembly enacted legislation to change the status of Pueblo Junior College to a four-year, degree-granting institution governed by the Board of Trustees for State Colleges. The college was named Southern Colorado State College (SCSC). It grew rapidly and offered educational programs both at the Orman Avenue campus and at a newly developing campus north of Pueblo’s Belmont residential district.

Development of the College for Community Services and Career Education

The need for additional secondary, post-secondary and adult vocational training in southern Colorado was recognized not only by the college administration but also by the community and many state agencies. Most of the Orman campus buildings had a vocational orientation and the decision to revitalize the campus as a vocational-technical training center was based on both past programs and functional accommodations. In 1974, Southern Colorado State College gave the name College for Community Services and Career Education to the vocational activities located on the Orman Campus. These vocational programs provided training to secondary, post-secondary, adult and special students.

In 1975, the Colorado General Assembly passed legislation that would allow Southern Colorado State College to operate the College for Community Services and Career Education as a technical community college. This change was made to enable the programs to be eligible for state and federal vocational funds within the state’s Community College and Vocational System.

We Become Pueblo Community College

In 1978 the Colorado General Assembly passed a bill that changed the status of the College for Community Services and Career Education from a component of the University of Southern Colorado to a separate and free-standing educational entity. On July 1, 1979, Pueblo Vocational Community College became a State System Community College and on July 1, 1982, the name was officially changed to Pueblo Community College (PCC).

By 1987 PCC had become a comprehensive community college, offering a broad range of general, personal, vocational and technical education programs as well as providing two-year transfer programs to qualify students for admission to the junior year at other colleges and universities. Today we place equal emphasis on vocational and transfer degree programs.

PCC’s history of offering courses in Cañon City blossomed into a more permanent presence in 1986 when we leased facilities on the grounds of the Holy Cross Abbey. A community fund drive that raised more than $1 million allowed us to secure $8.2 million in state funding for a stand-alone campus. Ground was broken on March 11, 2000, for a new 33,000 square-foot multi-functional building. Classes were first held in the new Fremont Campus facility in fall of 2001.

In October 1987, Pueblo Community College began providing community college educational opportunities to area residents in five southwestern Colorado counties. The campus was named the Southwest Center. The first classes were offered in the spring semester. In February 1988, the Colorado Commission on Higher Education placed the five southwestern counties within the service area of Pueblo Community College.

On January 30, 2008, San Juan Basin Technical College and Pueblo Community College (PCC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding forming an educational partnership to “solidify and enhance the working and long-term relationships between the two institutions … and to maximize efficiencies and resources as appropriate.” On April 14, 2008, the SJBTC Board of Control signed a resolution directing the administrative officers of SJBTC to do all things necessary to effectuate a merger with PCC in as expedient a manner as possible, including working with elected representatives to carry the necessary legislation to make the alliance possible. Legislation for the merger (Senate Bill 09-043) was drafted with support and input from Senator Jim Isgar and Representative Ellen Roberts. The bill was unanimously supported by the Senate and the House Education Committees and signed by Governor Bill Ritter on May 20, 2009.

As a result of Senate Bill 09-043, the former San Juan Basin Technical College and the former Pueblo Community College Southwest Campus operate in Southwest Colorado, Region 9, as PCC Southwest Campus/Site.

Today, PCC is one of the most dynamic and progressive community colleges in Colorado. We continually strive to provide modern facilities, state-of-the-art equipment and comprehensive technical and transfer programs that prepare students to enter the job market or transfer to a four-year school. Our faculty and staff are committed to student success, offering quality classroom instruction and academic support at our four campuses.

Campuses

Pueblo Campus

The Pueblo campus located in Pueblo, Colorado, serves students in Pueblo County. The main campus for Pueblo Community College provides oversight of all college operational functions – eight buildings on 33 acres, where more than 2,432 students attend classes working towards their degrees or certificates. The campus is wireless and has up-to-date technology in classrooms and laboratories, as well as extensive student support services toward academic excellence.

The extensive degree and certificate offerings, which will lead toward a career in business and industry or transfer to a four-year university, can be located in the Degree and Certificate Programs section.

Fremont Campus

The Fremont Campus located in Cañon City, Colorado, provides educational programs and services to the citizens of Fremont and Custer counties. We offer modern facilities, up-to-date technology, a full-service enrollment and academic advising center, a learning resource center, a bookstore, comprehensive nursing and science labs and many student activities. We serve students who are preparing to transfer to four-year colleges as well as those preparing for careers in business and industry.

We offer the following degrees and certifications through the Fremont Campus:

  • Associate of Science
  • Associate of Arts
  • Associate of Arts – Emphasis in Business Management or Social Work
  • Associate of Arts – Criminal Justice, Early Childhood Education, Education, History and Psychology
  • Associate of Applied Science – Nursing
  • Associate of General Studies
  • Certificate – Emergency Medical Technician, Emergency Medical-Intermediate, Nurse Aide, Phlebotomy, Fire Science (Wildland), and Structural Welding Introduction
  • Emergency Medical Services Program

Courses supporting other PCC degrees and certificates are offered at the Fremont Campus. Students can begin many PCC programs at the Fremont Campus, but may need to finalize programs at a different campus. The campus offers a full complement of GT Pathways (General Education transfer courses).

PCC Southwest Campus

The Southwest Campus located between Cortez and Mancos, Colorado, provides educational programs and services to the citizens of Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, and San Juan counties in the southwest corner of Colorado. The campus has modern facilities, up-to-date technology and full-service enrollment and academic advising center (Go!Zone), as well as an online bookstore for purchasing textbooks and other supplies. Students can enroll in transfer degree options or career and technical pathways to prepare for transfer to four-year colleges or a career in business and industry.

Pueblo Community College also has a location in Durango, CO. PCC’s Durango Site is located in The Commons building at 701 Camino Del Rio. Please use the entrance on the back/west side of the building. Our main office is located in Suite 319.

We offer the following degrees and certifications:

  • Associate of Arts
  • Associate of Arts – Early Childhood Education and Psychology
  • Associate of Science
  • Associate of General Studies
  • Associate of Applied Science – Automotive Service Technology, Early Childhood Education, Medical Assisting, Nursing, Radiology Technology and Welding
  • Certificates – Agriculture, Automotive, Construction Technology, Drone Technology, Early Childhood Education (Director, Group Leader and Infant Toddler), Emergency Medical Services (EMT-B, AEMT, & Paramedic), Medical Assisting, Nurse Aide, Practical Nursing, Law Enforcement Academy, Wildland Fire, and Welding

We have transfer articulation agreements with Fort Lewis College located in Durango, Colorado and can assist you with transferring to any other four-year college.

Student Personal Mobile Computing

Pueblo Community College is a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) institution.  Students should bring their own mobile device for use during all educational activities on campus. Not only will you find using your own device to be more comfortable and familiar, you will also see that most of what you can do with your own device on campus can be done from anywhere with an internet connection.  To review minimum device specifications, please see the Student Handbook.

WiFi Access - All currently enrolled students have access to Wi-Fi at all PCC Campuses.  There are no restrictions on mobile device type or quantity of devices connected per student.  We do request that you respect other students’ educational use of the wireless network when accessing non-educational web content. 

To access the wireless network at any PCC Campus, simply connect your device to PCCGuest, then open a web browser and click through the Acceptable Use Policy.  If you have trouble accessing the wireless network, please contact or visit the IT Department (see contact information on this page).

Remote Desktop Access - VMware Horizon connects students to a desktop computer on the college’s production network from their personal mobile device; giving students the ability to access most software applications used on campus computers.

Printing from Mobile Devices - PCC offers students two ways to print from personal mobile devices:

Papercut Web Printing - Papercut gives students the ability to print from their personal mobile device by uploading a file to a web page.  This makes it fast and convenient to print documents; however there are some limitations on file type and advanced print options. You can visit the Cashier’s office at your respective campus to add funds to your Papercut account when needed. For more details about student printing, please log into the PCC Portal and scroll down to “Web Printing from Mobile Devices (Papercut)”.

Printing from VMware Horizon - To print file types not supported by Papercut, or to use advanced print features, please log on to a VMware Horizon Remote Desktop (see above for description).

* For more information about VMware Horizon or Papercut, please visit the PCC Help channel on your Student Portal.

Software Availability - PCC strives to make the programs students use during the course of their educational experience available on their personal mobile device at no cost whenever possible.  Due to licensing and technical limitations, this is not always possible.  Listed below are options students have for accessing software for free as well as purchasing software at a reduced cost.

Office 365 - PCC students have access to more than just an e-mail account with Office 365.  Online versions of the popular Microsoft Office suite, as well as online storage via Microsoft OneDrive and a host of other productivity tools, are available at no cost.  Also, PCC Students are allowed to install the current version of Microsoft Office locally on up to five devices and use the software as long as they are students at PCC.  Check out the Office 365 channel on the Student tab of your MyPCC Portal for more information.

OnTheHub - As much as we like to make the software students need available for free on their personal devices, this just isn’t possible in all cases.  Another benefit of being a PCC student is the ability to purchase popular software titles by Microsoft, Adobe, Corel and more at a reduced cost.  To see what’s available, visit PCC OnTheHub and sign in with your S# and Windows Network Password. (Please note: the PCC OnTheHub website is hosted and managed by a 3rd party.  All sales transactions are conducted between the student and Kivuto Solutions Inc. and all sales inquiries should be handled through OnTheHub Help.)