Jul-5-2008 04:23 AM


About Northwest College


Our neighborhood

Northern Wyoming's quality of life is a big reason people move here and natives stay.

  • Excellent local and regional health care services
  • Superb K-12 public schools
  • Fresh air that's clean and clear
  • Big, bright skies
  • Lots of sunshine (avg. 300 days/year)
  • Feast-for-the-eyes sunsets
  • Spectacular mountain and desert landscapes
  • Four seasons
  • Courteous, friendly citizens with a strong work ethic

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Programs & services

Northwest is a comprehensive community college with a historical emphasis on diverse transfer programs, select technical programs featuring strong general education components, and total-student development services. General and developmental education are institutional strengths. Top quality education and exceptional student services — Northwest hallmarks — are delivered by a devoted faculty (81 full time, 6 permanent part time, 55 adjunct) and 155 support staff (102 full time, 53 part time).

The Northwest experience features personal attention from faculty in small class settings (17:1 student-to-faculty ratio) and extraordinary learning opportunities outside the traditional classroom — international study/travel, theme house living, student produced literary art magazine and agriculture newsletter, print/online student newspaper and Webcast events, NWC-TV, numerous internships, and independent study options. Solid residential life and student development programs close the circle for a lively, truly collegiate atmosphere.

Our Students

Northwest's state-mandated service area comprises three rural counties in Wyoming's beautiful Big Horn Basin where about 46,303 people live in 16 communities. The College delivers credit, adult basic education, workforce training, and continuing education classes at the main campus in Powell, two centers in Cody and Worland, and extended campus communities. Delivery methods are on-site, Internet, and interactive television.

Annual enrollment at Northwest*

  • 1,763 credit students (1,793 FTE)
    • 66% study full time
    • 71% from Wyoming
    • 27% from other U.S. states
    • 2% from other countries
  • 44% of full time students live in campus housing
  • 308 adult basic education students
  • 902 workforce training and continuing education students
  • 1,048 noncredit students (partnership with local school board)

* FALL 2006 STATISTICS

Our students successfully transfer across the nation to continue their educations, enter the workforce, or return to their jobs with improved skills.

College environment

Located in the valley of the Shoshone River, Powell is proud to be a college town and home to Northwest College's well-groomed, 124-acre main campus. Its 58 buildings include five residence halls and 80 apartments for nearly 900 students and families. Nearby are the Equine Center, Stock Agricultural Pavilion, an observatory, and West Campus, where the Center for Training and Development, an economic development business incubator, GEAR UP, and Adult Basic Education programs reside. Fifty miles to the west is the College's 36-acre mountain field station, surrounded by a national forest adjacent to spectacular Sunlight Basin.

Selected as one of 10 All-America Cities in 1994, Powell is a clean, safe community with a population of 5,381. Its economy is based upon oil, irrigated farming, livestock/ ranching, tourism, and agriculture support services.

The College's total annual budget of $27.5 million (FY08) is funded primarily by a mil levy in its tax district of Park County and by state appropriations. The institution is fiscally solvent.

Northwest's mission and success are enhanced by strong community support, a 41-year-old private, nonprofit foundation ($23.8 million total assets, long-standing annual and planned giving programs, comprehensive $8 million campaign in progress), and an active alumni association.