Type Community college President Brent Wallace, Ph.D. Mascot Lion | Established 1924 Phone +1 940-668-7731 Founded 1924 | |
Former names Gainesville Junior College (1924-1961)Cooke County Junior College (1961-1974)Cooke County College (1974-1994) Campus Rural, 110 acres (0.45 km) main campus Address 1525 W California St, Gainesville, TX 76240, USA Undergraduate tuition and fees Local tuition: 1,440 USD (2015), Domestic tuition: 3,816 USD (2015) Similar Grayson College, Texas Woman's University, Collin College, Hill College, University of North Texas Profiles | ||
North central texas college it career connection center
North Central Texas College (NCTC) is a community college serving Cooke County, Denton County, and Montague County, Texas.
Contents
- North central texas college it career connection center
- History
- The oldest continuously operating Community College in Texas
- Campuses
- Organization and administration
- Academic profile
- Sports
- Bus accident
- Notable people
- References
History
As with many of the early community colleges, NCTC began as an extension of the local school district. In NCTC's case, a branch of the Gainesville Independent School District known as Gainesville Junior College was proposed by Superintendent Randolph Lee Clark, who previously started a junior college that later became Midwestern State University. The Gainesville college was established May 20, 1924, and held its first classes in the fall of that year.
For the first 22 years of the school's existence, it shared the same building with Gainesville High School, also sharing teachers and administrators (not until 1957 were separate teachers hired for the college). In 1946 a building located next to the high school was purchased and the college had its own building.
However, by the mid-1950s the college grew to the point that sharing space with the high school was no longer practical. Local citizens passed a bond issue to build separate facilities for the college. However, discussions took place as to whether a separate entity, apart from the Gainesville ISD, should be created (including assessment of a property tax to support it). With the support of citizens such as W.T. Bonner (who donated the first 5 acres (20,000 m2) of the current campus and later sold 45 acres (180,000 m2) more to the college), Cooke County voters approved the creation of the new district, and Gainesville Junior College became Cooke County Junior College (the Junior was later dropped in the 1970s). In 1994, the institution's name was changed to North Central Texas College to reflect its increasing instructional offerings in two Denton County cities—Lewisville and Denton.
During this time, NCTC operated under a "gentlemen's agreement" with the other junior colleges, and thus no separate schools were formed in neighboring Denton and Montague Counties.
In 1992, president Ronnie Glasscock led the school to two major accomplishments. First, the "gentlemen's agreement" was codified into state law (however, neither Denton nor Montague are included in NCTC's tax base). Second, Glasscock lobbied for a name change, realizing that Cooke County College would handicap the college's effort to be a true regionally focused college. He was successful, and on June 1, 1994, the Regents voted to change the college's name to its current designation.
In January 2000, NCTC opened a branch campus in Bowie (to serve Montague County). The citizens of Bowie voted a 1/2 cent sales tax increase to build the 16,000-square-foot (1,500 m2), $2.196 million facility. NCTC also opened the Corinth campus (to serve Denton County) at the same time.
The oldest continuously-operating Community College in Texas
A historical marker outside the Administration Building claims that NCTC is the oldest continuously operating public community college in Texas, having been approved for operations in May 1924. This is based on the fact that several junior colleges which predate NCTC in terms of its opening either ceased operations (temporarily or permanently), were not founded as public institutions, or later became four-year colleges.
Campuses
The original location, the Cooke County Campus, is in Gainesville and is the main campus. NCTC maintains full-service campuses in Corinth and Bowie, with branch campuses in Graham and Flower Mound.
Organization and administration
The current president of NCTC is Dr. Brent Wallace. Dr. Wallace previously served as the Vice-President of Instruction.
As defined by the Texas Legislature, the official service area of NCTC consists of the following:
Academic profile
NCTC has a Lifelong Learning Division that recently held the first-ever Weld-Off with over 155 registrations and 42 participants. Known for its welding programs and state-of-the-art facility, the Lifelong Learning Division offers students a chance to go to school to learn a new trade or technique. Courses offered under Lifelong Learning consist of job skills and development, adult basic skills, computer training, and community education including English as a Second Language and GED courses.
Sports
The college athletics teams are nicknamed the Lions. The lions compete in the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference of the NJCAA. North Texas Central College offers athletic scholarships in baseball, softball, volleyball, and women's tennis.
Bus accident
On September 26, 2014, four members of the North Central Texas College Lions women's softball team died, and fifteen others suffered injuries, when the bus in which they were passengers was struck by a tractor-trailer near Davis, Oklahoma.
The four players who died were Brooke Deckard, Jaiden Pelton, Meagan Richardson, and Katelynn Woodlee. Three of the deceased players died at the scene; the fourth died at a hospital.
According to Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Ronnie Hampton, the tractor-trailer crossed the median into the southbound lane on Highway 35, and both the bus driver, who is also the coach, and the driver of the tractor-trailer will undergo toxicology tests, and the incident is being treated like a homicide.