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Community Colleges

Community colleges in the state offer a variety of programs, including technical courses, workforce training, fine arts, education and business. Most offer credits that transfer to major universities, including the University of New Mexico, a Class I research institution.

Central New Mexico Community College

Central New Mexico Community College (CNM), formerly called Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute (TVI), is the third largest post-secondary school in New Mexico. In Spring of 2007 nearly 20,870 students took advantage of TVI's certificate programs, associate degrees, and continuing education offerings.

  • CNM has four campuses: two in central Albuquerque, one in the South Valley near Los Lunas, and a new campus on the West Side near Rio Rancho.
  • As a community college, CNM offers liberal arts and lower division requirement courses for college transfer, as well as an extensive range of associate degree and certificate programs. Occupational and business courses are free to district residents.
  • Tuition for the 2007 year is $41.40-$51.40/credit hour for in-state students plus a $40 registration fee. Distance learning is $30 per hour.
  • CNM dedicated a 53,000-square-foot building to the West Side campus. The building includes science labs, pharmacy labs and administrative space. The $20M building will be open for class in January 2008.

Special Programs at CNM:

  • Occupational and certificate programs in business, health, information technology, and trades
  • Certificate and degree programs in electronics and advanced manufacturing, including semiconductor fabrication
  • Certificate program in Geomatics for surveying technicians
  • Programs in microsystems and optics/photonics
  • Aviation Technology associate degree holders can transfer to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's bachelor's degree program. Embry-Riddle has teaching sites in Albuquerque.

CNM & the Community:

  • CNM has served the high-tech community so well for so many years that economic development recruiters and companies consider the school an asset. Local employers serve on advisory committees that keep CNM attuned to current and emerging needs for skill development.
    • In June 2006, the National Science Foundation praised CNM's Southwest Center for Microsystems Education for their strong partnership with Sandia National Labs, the continuing development of meaningful projects for students and an effective outreach program into local schools.
  • General Motors has selected CNM as one of only several schools nationwide to participate in its Marketing Internship program.
  • CNM's Workforce Training Center is a state-of-the-art facility for training technology workers and developing customized courses

Santa Fe Community College

Santa Fe Community College was established in 1983. The college had almost 6,000 students for the Spring 2007 semester, and offers credit, noncredit, on-line classes and adult basic education programs. The college also offers:

  • Four academic departments: Business & Technologies, Educational Leadership, Health & Sciences and Liberal & Fine Arts
  • Almost 40 programs of study including accounting, architectural drafting, fashion design, gallery management, media arts and Southwest studies
  • A Small Business Development Center, designed for business owners and entrepreneurs looking for low-cost information; the center offers on-campus workshops throughout the year
  • The SFCC Training Center Corporation, created in order to conduct activities related to the college's Film Center and the Biomass Plant, and to support the development of other training projects in the future
  • UNM Extended University students earn UNM credits by taking courses through live, televised web-based or correspondence instruction.

Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute

Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute is a National Indian Community College and Land Grant Institution serving American Indian students. The school was opened in 1971. Fees range from $150-$280 per trimester and is open to American Indian and Alaskan Natives who meet certain criteria. The college offers:

  • Academic programs in Advanced Technical Education; Applied Vocational Technologies; Business Technologies; General Education and Early Childhood Education
  • An extended college - the Distance Education Program, which provides a variety of courses offered via SIPI's Satellite and Video Conferencing Network
  • Visions 21 program, which is funded by the National Science Foundation and seeks to increase the number of Native Americans graduating in science, technology, engineering and mathematics
  • Small Business Administration training to support a multi-partner national initiative to increase entrepreneurship opportunities and economic development services for the country's 100 most economically disadvantaged tribes