July 30, 2022
Best Community Colleges: Western
Wyoming Community College (WY)
Situated in Rock Springs, Wyoming,
Western Wyoming Community College (WWCC) is one of seven community colleges in
Wyoming. An extended campus center is located in Green River in Sweetwater
County. Rock Springs is the fourth largest town in Wyoming; the next closest
towns are Salt Lake City, Utah (180 miles) and Denver, Colorado (350 miles).
Yellowstone National Park, Grand
Teton National Park and Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area are all
accessible to the WCCCC community.
Due to the high elevation and harsh
winters in the area, all of the main college is located indoors, connected by
hallways.
The junior college awards one-year
certificates in 36 program areas, including:
- Journalism
- Web Site Development
- Technical Theatre
- Accounting
- Digital Design Technologies
- Fitness Leadership
- Power Plant Maintenance
Mechanics
Western Wyoming Community College
confers Associate of Arts (AA), Associate of Fine Arts (AFA), Associate of
Nursing (AN), Associate of Science (AS) and Associate of Applied Science (AAS)
degrees, and a few four-year degrees in partnership with the University of Wyoming
in Laramie, Wyoming.
Degree-related programs include:
- Science and Mathematics
- Humanities and Fine Arts
- Health Science
- Social Science
- Business
- Technology & Industry
Close to 70 percent of students are
in transfer programs. The school has a strong international students segment,
with many resources including a host family program.
Online and compressed video courses
are available statewide; online courses may be taken for associate, bachelor
and master degree courses.
An annual “Wyoming Safety &
Workforce Summit” is free to the community and offers presentations on safety
issues and workforce development.
WWCC is also home to the
Instructional Well-Site Facility, a closed-loop system that provides “real
world” training for local industry technicians and customized specialty
courses. This site also serves as a meeting space for industry professionals.
WWCC is a member of The National
Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC). College Atlas.org named WWCC one of the top
25 community colleges. The college ranked #13 in the CNN Money listing of
top community colleges in 2012. Finally, WCCC ranked #15 in the 2010 Washington
Monthly ranking of the top 100 U. S. community colleges
