AWC Partners With College to Offer Programs Lacked By Other Institution
By Sarah Reynolds, The Sun, Yuma, Ariz.
Feb. 18–Arizona Western College students could have access to a dental hygiene program next year, but they will have to travel more than 200 miles to get their training.
AWC has partnered with Mohave Community College to cooperatively offer programs lacked by the other institution, according to Beatriz Espinoza, AWC vice president of learning services.
The dental hygiene course will be taught at MCC’s Bullhead City campus, according to Michael Kearns, MCC vice chancellor of instruction.
Bullhead City is about 200 miles north of Yuma. AWC students will have to travel there to take the program, while MCC students must come to Yuma for AWC’s radiology course.
Courses will be available in August.
Only 18 spots are available in MCC’s dental hygiene program, according to Kearns. Anyone can apply, but residents of Mohave County are given extra points on their application, making it easier for them to gain admittance. AWC students will be given that same access.
Dental hygiene “is very expensive to put together,” said Kearns, “because of the equipment and the dental lab and things like that. So you don’t see many programs for that reason.”
Students will complete the prerequisite classes at their home college but will have to go to the program’s site to complete it.
Both programs are relatively new additions to their respective campuses. MCC introduced its dental hygiene training three years ago, and AWC’s radiology class was put into place not long after.
Kearns said the colleges have been talking for some time about operating them in conjunction. “Both of those are very expensive to establish … but they’re both in very high demand. So we decided this would be in the best interests our students.”
The AWC governing board approved the agreement at its regular meeting last week. Kearns said MCC’s governing board will review the plan, which he expects to be approved, at its next meeting in March.
MCC is a rural, two-year community college that serves more than 11,000 students annually in the Mohave County area. It has four campuses in Kingman, Lake Havasu City, Bullhead City and Colorado City.
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