Barstow Community College (BCC) is a community college in Barstow and the Mojave Desert, in San Bernardino County, Southern California.
BCC provides the first two years of general education requirements that enable students to transfer onward to a four-year college or university and provides certification and vocational training.
Accreditation
Barstow Community College (BCC) is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Community and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education. Barstow Community College offers the following degrees:
- Associate of Arts in Humanities
- Associate of Arts in Social Sciences
- Associate of Science in Natural Sciences/Math
- Associate of Science in a variety of occupational majors
History
The Barstow Community College district was established in September 1959 by the citizens of the upper High Desert region of Southern California. Evening classes began the next year at Barstow High School, followed by the first day of classes in fall 1962 at Barstow First Methodist Church. The campus was constructed in 1964 at its current location on Barstow Road and first classes began in February 1965. Presently, the campus of BCC represents the standards of any college campus in the U.S. and includes: instructional halls, gym, athletic fields, tennis courts, cafeteria, student center, state of the art library, amphitheatre, fine arts center, and numerous administrative and technical buildings.
Description
An open-admission, public institution, the college serves more than 3,700 students in degree and certificate programs with approximately 120 faculty. It provides the first two years of college or university study as part of the California State Community College System of Higher Education. The college's educational program includes lower-division course work, general education offerings, and vocational courses for transfer to baccalaureate degree institutions. The college offers a number of occupational programs designed to prepare students for entry into the workforce. Service learning and self-enrichment classes are also offered to the community.
Barstow Community College’s vocational program was revamped in 2006 to meet the needs of the community and workforce. In 2010, a partnership between a local business leader and a charter school emerged and the Center for Workforce and Economic Development (a partnership between BCC and Excelsior Charter School) was formed. 90 percent of the college’s Career Technical Education (CTE) programs are centrally located in one facility and include Solar Technology, Logistics and Warehousing, Electrical, Building Construction Trades Technology, HVAC, Automotive and Diesel Technology, Photography and Welding. The college completed the renovation of its student services center (Norman Smith Student Services Center) in 2009 and began construction of a 700-seat Performing Arts Center in October 2010 and opened Fall of 2014. A two-story Wellness Center (located behind the current James R. Parks gymnasium), complete with an indoor track broke ground in late 2011.
Location
BCC is located on State Route 247 in the Mojave Desert region of San Bernardino County, CA., approximately 120 miles from both Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The college district covers the area from the Nevada state line, bounded by Kern and Inyo counties and the San Bernardino mountains. BCC serves the communities of Barstow, Lenwood, Newberry Springs, Daggett, Yermo, Hinkley, Ludlow, and Baker. Barstow Community College also provides on-site instruction to the U.S. Army National Training Center at Ft. Irwin and offers online classes through Distance Education.
Barstow Community College District is bordered by Antelope Valley at the west, Ridgecrest to the distant northwest, Victorville to the south, and to the distant southeast by Joshua Tree. It is the northernmost Community College District in San Bernardino County and the last college on I-15 before the Nevada Stateline.
Alumni and Barstow Famous
- Congressman Joe Baca, former BCC baseball player,
- Justin Leone; played for the Seattle Mariners,
- Dan Norman; played for the Mets and Expos,
- Greg Martinez; MLB player for Milwaukee Brewers, graduate of BCC,