Kingsborough Community College: A Comprehensive Overview

Kingsborough Community College (KCC), a public community college located in Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, New York, stands as a beacon of educational opportunity within the City University of New York (CUNY) system. Founded in 1963, KCC has a long-standing commitment to serving a diverse student population and providing access to quality higher education. With its comprehensive programs, dedicated faculty, and state-of-the-art facilities, Kingsborough offers a transformative learning environment for students from all walks of life. The college celebrated 60 years of teaching and learning effectiveness recently.

A Brief History and Location

Founded in 1963, Kingsborough Community College is one of 25 colleges and schools within the City University of New York (CUNY). Its campus is located in the city’s most populous borough. Situated on a 70-acre campus in Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, the college enjoys a spectacular waterfront setting. The 71-acre (287,300 m2) campus overlooks Sheepshead Bay, Jamaica Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean. The Marine and Academic Center (MAC), whose iconic beacon is a registered lighthouse (USCG 1-34360), adds to the natural beauty of the campus. A working lighthouse, # 34360, sits atop the Marine Academic Center (MAC).

Student Demographics and Diversity

Kingsborough Community College serves a widely diverse population of approximately 14,000 students. Kingsborough serves a widely diverse student population, represented by 142 national backgrounds and 73 national languages. The students come from 140 different countries and speak over 70 languages. A significant portion of the student body identifies as an underrepresented minority (URM). Kingsborough ranks among the top community colleges in the country in associate degrees awarded to minority students.

Academic Programs and Accreditation

Kingsborough Community College offers a broad array of educational opportunities in line with its current mission: preparation for transfer to a four-year institution, career development, general education, adult and continuing education, and support services. The 14 academic departments offer more than 37 programs of study, 12 available completely online. Students can earn degrees and certificates in 46 different fields. Graduates who successfully complete the courses prescribed for the program of their choice can earn the degree that plan carries: the Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree, the Associate in Science (A.S.) degree or the Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree.

Popular programs include: Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies, Business Administration and Management, General, and Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration. KCC offers over 50 programs of study, including the only New York State license-approved polysomnographic technology degree program in New York City and NYC’s first and only accredited A.A.S. degree in surgical technology. It is the first college in Brooklyn with a New York State Department of Health-Bureau of Emergency Medical Services-approved paramedic curriculum.

KCC Flex offers a combination of alternative and accelerated scheduling, expedited application and admissions processes, dedicated enrollment and academic coaches. KCC Flex offers the following fully online degrees, A.A. Liberal Arts, A.A. Criminal Justice, A.S. Accounting, A.S. Business Administration, A.S. Chemical Dependency Counseling, A.S. Community Health, A.A.S. The Business of Fashion, A.A.S.

Kingsborough is an accredited institution and a member of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE or the Commission). Kingsborough's accreditation status is Accreditation Reaffirmed. accreditation. at those institutions. is throughout the United States. All academic programs are registered by the New York State Education Department.

Several programs hold additional accreditations and approvals:

The Chemical Dependency Program and the Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counseling Certificate are accredited by the National Addiction Studies Accreditation Commission (NASAC).
The Nursing Program is approved by the New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions, Division of Professional Licensing Services Nurse Unit.
Emergency Medical Services Paramedic (EMS-P) Program has probationary accreditation with New York State Department of Health Bureau of Emergency Medical Services, NYS Department of Health.
The Kingsborough Community College Paramedic Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) upon the recommendation of the Committee on Accreditation of Education Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Profession (CoAEMSP).

Graduates of the Kingsborough Community College Paramedic Program as eligible to take the paramedic examination at the New York State, New York City, and national level.

Campus Facilities and Resources

Kingsborough Community College boasts a range of modern facilities designed to enhance the learning experience.

Computer Labs: The Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) manages the hardware and software for all computer labs with 1,530 desktop computers, including smart boards, podium systems, projector systems, instructor classroom computers, 950 wireless thin clients in 21 computerized classrooms, and introduced in 2021, PTZ camera systems. There are 900 computers available. The college also provides open computer labs designed for multidisciplinary use by registered students, offering a comfortable study and research lounge area. Student Help Desks support students’ varying technological needs and are an ever-present access point for students to use and receive assistance with technology for academic purposes. A wireless computer network is available throughout the campus.
Specialized Labs: The college features specialized labs to support various academic programs, including a diesel lab, a fashion design lab, graphic design lab equipped with Macs, and math and computer science labs. The Language Learning Labs provide students with specialized instruction in Arabic, Chinese, French, Italian and Spanish.
Science Facilities: The 6,550 gallon shark tank, along with five other aquarium tanks containing a host of aquatic species, and other museum quality displays relating to marine and terrestrial biology, support biology courses.
Nursing and Health Sciences Labs: The Nursing Labs are provided with actual hospital beds and equipment simulators as well as medical mannequin simulators (including pediatric, pregnant and adult mannequins). A new state-of-the-art Simulation Center for Emergency Care and the Health Sciences uses the latest high-fidelity human mannequins and actual ambulances for instruction.
Athletic Facilities: The award-winning Health, Physical Education and Recreation Center building contains two large gymnasiums with retractable bleachers, indoor tracks, a 26 meter swimming pool (with depths ranging from 3 feet to 12 feet), a racquetball court, a fitness center with state-of-the art cardio equipment, a separate free-weight room, yoga rooms and dance studios. The gymnasiums accommodate basketball courts, tennis courts, and volleyball courts.
Arts and Media Facilities: Art students are provided with numerous fine art studios, a photography dark room, a ceramics studio with four (4) electric kilns and two (2) gas kilns, and state-of-the-art digital Mac labs for Graphic Design, Illustration, Animation, and Digital Photography classes. Kingsborough’s Radio Station, WKRB 90.3, serves as both an instructional lab and a fully functional station. The state-of-the-art facility incorporates three studios, an Audio Editing suite and a Smart Classroom that accommodates 20 students. The Television Studio functions as an instructional lab with a tapeless HD workflow, incorporating three full-HD cameras, a Grass Valley video switcher, graphics and theatrical lighting system. The Multimedia Editing Lab provides opportunities for students to practice skills in remote camera operation, lighting for remotes, and editing for both video and audio. The Lighthouse Theater serves as the primary production laboratory for the theatre arts program where students practice the skills that they have learned in acting, design, technical theatre, voice, musical theatre, history and general theatre coursework. The Scene Shop is a technical theatre and theatrical design classroom and laboratory where students practice skills in lighting and scenic design, as well as electrics, carpentry, stage management, and other areas of technical theatre.
Tourism and Hospitality Labs: The Tourism and Hospitality program labs house software used to train students. The Opera Property Management System (PMS) Software, an industry leading system, trains students for jobs in hotel management. Virtual Enterprise MarketMaker trains students to create and operate their own virtual business.
Library: The library at Kingsborough Community College is named after former City University of New York Chancellor Robert Kibbee. The Robert J. Kibbee Library provides various resources to support students' academic pursuits.

These spaces support the infrastructure for teaching and learning, scholarship and research.

Student Life and Support Services

Kingsborough Community College is committed to providing comprehensive services that address student needs in order to support academic success. Students enjoy a wide range of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities both on and off-campus.

The college expects that every Kingsborough student will make consistent and determined progress toward earning a degree, seriously strive to perform well in all courses, spend approximately two hours and five minutes of outside preparation, study, and work for EACH hour of classroom instruction and be committed to taking full advantage of the opportunities the college offers for a quality education. The administration and faculty are concerned with providing education of the highest level of excellence, building basic skills, which will facilitate and encourage further learning, assisting students to develop their individual potentials to their highest levels and helping students establish a firm foundation upon which to build their future careers.

The college offers several special programs and support services, including:

Some degree programs are available as an online learning option.
External Degree Program
English as a Second Language program
Academic remediation
Distance learning program
Independent study
Learning disabilities services
Advanced Placement credit
Accelerated degree program
Honors program
Cooperative (work-study) program
Internships
Off-campus study
Summer session for credit
Part-time undergraduate degree programs
TRiO program
College Discovery
CUNY Edge
Access-Ability Services
Single Parent Students
ASAP

Kingsborough is a leader in promoting civic learning and engagement. Kingsborough Community College is committed to enhancing learning opportunities for the Brooklyn community.

Read also: Tuition at Kingsborough

Athletics

Kingsborough Community College teams participate as a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The Wave is a member of the community college section of the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC).

Admissions and Tuition

The school has an open admissions policy. Applying (Fall 2023) Total Entering Students8,339. The application fee is $65.

In-state tuition and fees for 2020-2021 were $5,252, and out-of-state tuition and fees were $8,132. At CUNY Kingsborough Community College, 49 percent of undergraduates receive grant or scholarship aid and the average scholarship or grant award is $6,111.

Recognition and Achievements

Kingsborough Community College has been recognized as one of the top four community colleges in the nation by the Aspen Institute’s Community College Excellence Program. Kingsborough Community College is a Leader College of Distinction of Achieving the Dream (ATD), a national network of community colleges focused on the development of committed leadership, use of evidence to improve policies and services, broad campus engagement, systematic institutional improvement, and increasing institutional equity. Named one of the top community colleges in the country by The New York Times.

A Forward-Looking Institution

Following its long-standing and exemplary record, Kingsborough will continue to anticipate and respond to the ever-changing needs of its dynamic urban area. For over fifty years Kingsborough Community College has provided access, excellence and opportunity to countless students in Brooklyn and beyond, while also earning recognition as a nationwide leader among community colleges. As much as these efforts have been fueled by administrative leadership and academic ingenuity, they have also relied on the philanthropic support of Kingsborough’s dedicated donors and partners. When making a gift to Kingsborough, donors have many options to choose from: creating an endowed or named scholarship fund, contributing to existing funds, making a bequest or planned gift, making an unrestricted gift to the KCC Foundation, and many more. The foundation is governed by an independent Board of Trustees which represents a wide array of prominent industries in New York City. The Foundation Office is located in the Kingsborough Community College Office for College Advancement, 2001 Oriental Boulevard, Brooklyn, NY 11235-2398.

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