Maricopa Community College District

The Maricopa County Community College District, also known as Maricopa Community Colleges, is one of the largest community college district in the United States, serving more than 220,000 students each year in Maricopa County, Arizona. The district serves Maricopa County, the county that includes and surrounds Phoenix and is the most populous of the state's counties. The district's administrative headquarters are located in Tempe, Arizona (east suburban Phoenix).

The programs offered at MCCCD include those leading to a two-year associate degree, and occupational certificates, as well as online classes, and dual enrollment programs.

MCCCD primarily serves students from the Phoenix, AZ (link) metropolitan area and surrounding parts of Maricopa County. The cost of tuition for Maricopa County residents $86 per credit hour, as of the 2015-16 academic year.

The Phoenix Union High School District established Phoenix Junior College (now Phoenix College) in 1920 as the first community college in the state of Arizona. In 1960, the state legislature provided for junior college districts in Arizona. The Maricopa County Junior College District was established in 1962 by the approval of county voters, with the new system acquiring Phoenix Junior College.

The system established branch campuses of Phoenix Junior College in the nearby suburbs of Glendale and Mesa; these would become independent campuses within the system by the end of the decade (1965). Other campuses were established in the following years:

In 1971, the "Junior College" portion of the name was changed to "Community College".

The State Board of Directors for Community Colleges of Arizona presided over the entire statewide community college system until June 2002, when the Arizona Legislature reduced its powers and duties and transferred most oversight to individual community college districts.

The Maricopa Community Colleges provide access to higher education for diverse students and communities. The colleges focus on learning through:

Founded in 2013, the corporate college develops and implements solutions for new and existing Arizona businesses based on specifically identified needs. The corporate college provides consultative services to businesses, and continuing education to professionals, and will oversee district entrepreneurial activities and initiatives, such as the business incubator on the GateWay Community College campus. Using best practices of successful corporate colleges implemented in Ohio, North Carolina, Texas, Florida and Indiana, Maricopa's corporate college provides non-accredited training. This means it will function independently of the 10 Maricopa community colleges and two skill centers, while drawing on their faculty and facility resources when appropriate. In addition to working with employers that are moving into the Valley, it offers professional and continuing education programs to established corporations and associations.

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