Yavapai College aims to incorporate different learning styles and facilitates better educational, cultural, social and economic opportunities to the student through real-life based robust nursing curriculum and training.
Yavapai College is a leading community college in Yavapai County, Arizona. For 50 years, the college has witnessed tremendous growth and has expanded to multiple learning centers at different locations that have built the repute of providing quality education at low cost. Their main campus is situated in Prescott, with others are in Clarkdale, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, and Sedona. The college provides a wide range (more than 73 different types) of academic programs that include degrees and certificates. Yavapai is famous for fulfilling students’ aspirations and dreams by providing them job training, hands-on occupational training, business training and more to make them ready for any challenges and economic empowerment.
Brief Journey since Inception
Yavapai College was established in 1965 when the local voters approved the formation of a junior college in November. The following year, voters approved a $2.5 million bond to fund the creation of the college. After the approval of lease by the Bureau of Land Management, ground was allocated for the Prescott campus in September, 1968. Since then, the college has transformed the lives of thousands of their students through various academic programs and has produced 18,351 graduates and awarded 21,665 degrees since 1970.
Robust and Popular Academic Programs & their Accreditations
Associate Degree in Nursing, Arts, Science, Business, Elementary Education, Fine Arts and General Studies are some of their notable degree programs. Apart from these, the institute also provides academic programs in variety of domains which include fire science, gunsmithing, visual arts, computer systems, winemaking, film and media arts, agribusiness, education, and culinary arts. Their Gunsmithing School is among the one of the top three schools in the USA. Excellent pass rates, top-notch instructors, CEP options, clinical learning settings, and high graduate success rate in the job market make their academic programs lucrative and desirable.
Yavapai College has been associated and accredited with numerous educational regulatory bodies of the USA. Their nursing program has been recognized and accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) and Arizona State Board of Nursing (AZBN).
Distinctiveness of Yavapai College
The college gives special emphasis to practical training and evaluates the growth of the students while pursuing their academic programs. To fulfill this need, they have built up an advanced nursing lab that is well equipped with interactive mannequins and medication dispensing systems, which create a hospital-like experience for nursing students. A dosage calculation exam is administered in each semester whereby students are required to score a 95% or better to continue in the program. During the final semester of the program, students are encouraged to participate in a capstone clinical course where they are paired with one registered nurse for a total of 132 clinical hours. This particular facility helps the students boost their practical learning to remove any apprehension they might have about the nursing practice even before the actual beginning of their nursing career. Students are also required to take a standardized exam after the completion of each course. Based on the results, personalized remedy classes are also provided by the college to help students improve in the concepts where they may be lacking.
Notable Recognitions and Accomplishments
Prominent college ranking portal, OnlineCollege.com, has ranked Yavapai College at the 10th position among the online community colleges across the U.S. for their excellent academic program in 2017. Their winemaking students have won several medals as well at various wine competitions that include Best of Class Award at 2017 Sunset International Wine Competition, Arizona Grand Wine Festival and the Jefferson Cup.
Renowned and Experienced Academician Mentoring Yavapai
Dr. Penelope Will has been the President of Yavapai College since 2011. She has served as the president of Northeast Iowa Community College as well in the past, prior to the current appointment. With her noble mission to provide high quality learning environment and rich cultural resources to the diverse population of Yavapai County, she is leading the institute with great courage and vision. She holds a Ph.D. in higher education from Michigan State University, an M.S. in Counseling from Miami University, Ohio, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from the University of Cincinnati. Penelope has a vast experience in economic development, assessment, planning, student development, and quality improvement. In her career to date, Dr. Wills has served in many leadership positions in higher education at the state, regional, and national levels and has formed an effective and positive partnerships with industry, K-12, and state agencies.
Future Prospective in Nursing Domain
Yavapai College is associated with many healthcare service providers in the Yavapai county area that assist their students at the time of job placements. Their nursing graduates are always in demand and are working in a wide array of nursing domain include hospitals, outpatient surgery centers, long term care, physician’s offices, treatment centers and many more. After the final semester students becomes eligible to apply for the job placement process.
Noteworthy Alumni that made Huge Mark in Real Life
Ken Bennett: He is an American politician and businessman who have served as the President of Arizona Senate, and also as the 19th Secretary of State of Arizona, from 2009 to 2015.
Curt Schilling: He is a former ace baseball pitcher that has earned immense respect and accomplishment in his long successful career as a baseball player. He is famous for being an excellent color analyst and video game developer as well.
