In this month’s school spotlight, we are highlighting consortium partner school, Garden City Community College, founded in 1919 and located on 66 acres in Garden City, Kansas.
We asked Kristi Tempel, Director of Public Relations/Marketing for Garden City Community College, to tell us more about GCCC and here’s what she shared with us:
Garden City Community College is one of four Kansas Community Colleges established in 1919, GCCC has served the public longer than any other community college in the state of Kansas. The present 14-building campus is spread across 66 acres of opportunity. In the fall of 2014, the college opened its brand new Phase I, multi-sports complex with seating for 3,000 spectators. The sports complex is home to Track and Field, Soccer, and Broncbuster Football. The complex is located near campus housing and other field sports offered at GCCC.
Students have many opportunities to choose what type of housing they would like to live in. In 2015, students had the option of living in the dorms, or new units built directly across the street from the college, aptly named “Broncbuster Housing”. Recently purchased apartments, or “Broncbuster Suites”, add more options for student housing. Other facilities around campus have been newly renovated including the student center, bookstore, gymnasium lobby, the library parking lot, and a new welding center was completed in 2015. Other improvements planned for the summer of 2017, include a complete renovation of the main gym floor in the Dennis Perryman Athletic Complex (DPAC), and a new dorm parking lot.
At GCCC, you can experience exceptional programs ranging from John Deere Ag Technology, fire science, criminal justice, emergency medical technician, automotive technology, cosmetology, to pre-med and the arts. We are the only community college in western Kansas with a cadaver lab on campus, which provides real world hands-on training in the medical, nursing, and athletic training fields. Enrolling is easy at GCCC! Simply visit our website at www.gcccks.edu, or you can call admissions at 276-7611.
Garden City Community College is ranked number three as one of the most affordable community colleges in America, and for good reason. At GCCC, we award more than $1 million every year in scholarships and grants-in-aid. Scholarship possibilities range from academics to athletics, and group participation to grade point average. Our short and simple online scholarship application can be found at www.gcccks.edu. GCCC also provides the opportunity to work in a variety of roles on campus through our Work Study Program, with positions that are flexible around student class schedules.
It is easy to find your place on campus! With more than 20 clubs and organizations to choose from, you’ll have an opportunity to make your mark at GCCC. Broncbuster Athletics provide an opportunity for fans to come together and cheer teams on to victory. GCCC is a member of the Kansas Jayhawk Community College and boasts 18 Division I sports programs that frequently qualify for postseason play including basketball, cross country, men’s golf, cheer, dance, rodeo, soccer, softball, baseball, volleyball, football, and track and field. In fact, the Garden City Community College Broncbuster Football team was the 2016 No. 1 team in the nation winning the NJCAA National Championship at the El Toro Bowl in Yuma, Arizona, on December 3, 2016, with a perfect undefeated season at 11-0. The GCCC cheer team has won the Region VI Championship twice in the past three years, and for two years in a row has received a bid to the National Competition. This April, the cheer team brought home a third-place trophy from Nationals at the NCA cheer competition in Florida. GCCC has academic clubs, agriculture clubs, athletic training, fine arts and communications, and leadership clubs. In 2016, a GCCC band and drumline took the field and marched for the first time in school history! The band and drumline are primed for growth, with close to 90 students already signed up in 2017. GCCC also boasts the National Champion meats judging team of 2017. This marks the fifth national championship for the meats team with championships in 2003, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2017. The GCCC meats team was the only community college team, and the only American team, invited to the world competition in Wagga, Wagga, Australia, in the summer of 2016.
In 2016, GCCC formed a partnership with the Kansas Army and Air National Guard to provide an opportunity for soldiers to gain valuable civilian and military education in a traditional student role right on the GCCC campus. More opportunities that are military became available for students on February 13, 2017, at Pittsburg State University. PSU President Steve Scott, signed a Memorandum of Agreement that established a formal linkage between PSU, Garden City Community College, and the Kansas Army National Guard. The linkage provides a path for students at GCCC to take the first two years of the Senior Reserve Officers Training Corps (SROTC) curriculum, and then transfer to PSU to finish the final two years of the SROTC curriculum, and receive a commission into the U.S. Army.
Garden City Community College exemplifies the value of access and opportunity in higher education. Students attending GCCC from 15 countries, and 40 U.S. states, are directly connected to a quality educational experience underpinned with success. At Garden City Community College, the average student to teacher ratio is 20 to 1. The college has received numerous accolades in the past four years including 2014 “Outstanding College of the Year”, awarded by the Rural Community College Alliance (RCCA), CNN Money Magazine ranked GCCC among the top 24 community colleges in the nation; GCCC ranked #31 in the list of top community colleges in the nation by “The 50 Best Community Colleges”; and GCCC is ranked No. 3 in the top 50 Most Affordable Community Colleges. GCCC was named to Aspen Institute’s top 10% of community colleges in America for 2015, and GCCC is listed as a “Military Friendly College” for 2014, 2015, and 2016.
The slogan for Garden City Community College is “From here you can go anywhere”. With incredible growth in the workforce in Southwest Kansas, you can step out from our campus directly into a career path, or choose a four-year university. At GCCC, we offer access, opportunity, and affordability in education. The administration, faculty, and staff are committed to making sure students have the best experience possible, and are available to help and mentor students every step of the way!