Rockland Community College

An institution called Rockland College , chartered by the state Board of Regents in 1878, existed for sixteen years in Nyack, New York but is not related to the current institution. Rockland Junior College , supported by federal funds disbursed through New York State, and sponsored by Nyack High School was established in 1932 as one of several depression-era two-year schools. Rockland Junior College shut down in 1935. The current Rockland Community College was founded in 1959. It was planned that it would raise taxes by only $4 a year. Between 1956 and 1970, Rockland's population was one of the fastest growing in the state, expected to double from 107,000 to 215,000 and the number of high school graduates was projected to rise from 700 to 2,463. Large local industries like Avon Products in Suffern and Lederle Laboratories in Pearl River required more skilled workers, and the growth of Rockland County hospitals, Nyack Hospital and Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern warranted the creation of a nursing program. Sixty-nine percent of parents polled expressed interest in their children attending a community college in Rockland County. The Spring Valley satellite campus, sold for $4.2 million, has been discontinued. It was located in the historic North Main Street School . [ 5 ] Instructions were discontinued at the Haverstraw Extension Center in 2020.

Rockland Community College offers 40 associate degrees and 11 one-year certificate programs. [ 6 ] Rockland Community College has four schools: Business & Professional Studies; Arts, Education, Humanities, and Social Sciences; Nursing, Health, and Wellness; and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The college also offers community educational , high school, microcredential , and workforce development programs. In 2017 Rockland Community College was ranked the best community college in New York for adult learners in Washington Monthly 's recent annual ranking of American colleges and universities. Rockland Community College rated twenty-eighth nationwide out of nearly 1,500 two-year colleges. [ 7 ] The following year, the college was named the fifth Campus Pride's 2018 Best of the Best LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges & Universities [ 8 ] In 2021, Rockland Community College received the Insight into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award [ 9 ] Workforce Programs In 2022, Economic Mobility Workforce Innovation (EMWI) Division of Rockland Community College was introduced focusing on Workforce development that provides employment prospects in work markets by offering comprehensive certificate programs , including Emergency Medical Services (EMS) , Medical credentials , Commercial Driver's License (CDL) , Google IT , "stack-able" credentials and community educational programs such as Computer literacy and Scholastic Aptitude Test review courses. Afterward, manufacturing certification programs were offered.

The Rockland Community College High School Program began in 2010. Rockland Community College academic departments have oversight of the curriculum, textbooks, and student assessments offered at the high schools. High school teachers who are college adjuncts teach the courses at the high schools. Rockland Community College participates in the New York Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NYCEP), [ 10 ] which enables the college to network and share strategies of concurrent enrollment programs offered throughout SUNY community colleges.

The English Skills Academy (ESA) have Intensive English Programs (IEP) for immigrant and non-immigrant students who need to improve their academic English skills prior to starting their degree ( credit ), Workforce development or community education (non-credit) programs at Rockland Community College.