Northern New Mexico College

Northern New Mexico College is a regional comprehensive college offering bachelor's, associate degrees and certificates, located in Española and El Rito, New Mexico.

Northern was founded in El Rito, New Mexico in 1909 as the Spanish American Normal School with the original mission of providing teacher training for the area's Spanish speakers.[2] The college's original mission and Constitutional charter makes Northern the first Hispanic-serving institution in the United States. Northern opened its Española campus in 1971 and expanded its mission to include technical vocational programs, eventually becoming the state's first designated community college.

In 2004, new legislation allowed Northern to offer a baccalaureate program in Elementary Education. In 2013, Northern applied for a change of mission from a two-year to a four-year college. Between 2014 and 2015, ten more baccalaureate programs were approved. The main campus is now in Española; the El Rito campus is open and active with hands-on technical trades programs.

Northern primarily serves rural communities from within a 40-mile (64 km) radius of the main campus in Española, including eight Native American pueblos, in one of the most underserved areas in the state. The college is an open admissions institution, and offers the most affordable bachelor's programs in the Southwest, as well as other competitively priced programs.

Now one of the state's four regional comprehensive institutions, with its main campus in Española, Northern offers more than 50 bachelor's, associate, and certificate programs in arts, film & media, biology and environmental science, business, education, engineering, humanities & social sciences, liberal arts, and nursing. In addition, the college has reintroduced technical trades programs in electrical and plumbing, in partnership with two local unions and five public school districts through its new co-located Branch Community College, the first of its kind in the state's history.

The college is dedicated to providing its 1,200 students with the most relevant and sought-after skills to enable them to prosper in the modern job market. Northern also offers extraordinary undergraduate student research opportunities early in their college careers, in STEM, social sciences and the humanities. In addition, Northern has focused on the “trades of tomorrow,” including fast business certificates in Project Management, Microsoft Office and Hotel/Restaurant Management, and programs in Cybersecurity, Film and Digital Media Arts, Certified Nurse Aide, and others, including a Radiation Protection program in partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Northern is fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and has earned additional national industry-specific accreditations for its engineering, nursing, education, and business programs.

The college is organized into two schools:

• The School of STEM-H (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Health
• The School of Liberal Arts, Business, and Education

In 2019, NNMC's co-located Branch Community College added the Department of Technical Trades, currently offering Electrical and Plumbing Technology programs.

In 2019, the school began offering an online business course relating to medical marijuana, "The Cannabis Establishment Technician Course".[3]

In spring 2022, the college will begin offering new cannabis courses, titled "Cannabis & Hemp Enterprises I & II."

Española Campus in 2011, Administration Building on left.

• The primary campus in Española, consists of a 200-acre (810,000 m²) tract extending from U.S. Highway 84/285 to the banks of the Rio Grande. It is approximately 25 miles (40 km) north of Santa Fe.[7]
• The El Rito campus is Northern's historical campus. It is 25 miles (40 km) north of Española.

Northern New Mexico's president is Dr. Richard J. Bailey, Jr. He reports to a Board of Regents who are appointed by the governor of New Mexico.[8]

Northern New Mexico teams, called The Eagles, are part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing as an Independent of the Association of Independent Institutions (AII). Men's sports include basketball, cross country and golf; while women's sports include basketball, cheer, cross country and golf.

The athletics department was launched in 2005. The Eagles began their first competitive men's and women's basketball seasons in 2009.[9]

• Phillip Archuleta, New Mexico state legislator[10]
• Valerie Espinoza, New Mexico Public Regulation Commissioner[11]
• Debbie Rodella, New Mexico state legislator[12]

• Official website
• Official athletics website