- Darton College
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Darton College Motto A Better Beginning Established 1963 Type State college President Dr. Peter J. Sireno Admin. staff 235 (est.) Students 5879[1] Location Albany, Georgia, USA Campus Urban, 186.1 acres (0.753 km²) Colors Red and Black Mascot Cavaliers Website http://www.darton.edu Darton College is now a four-year state college unit of the University System of Georgia, located in Albany, Dougherty County, Georgia, U.S. The college has 84 two-year transfer and career associate degrees and 49 certificate programs.[2]
Contents
History
The institution was founded as Albany Junior College in 1963 and offered its first classes in 1966. In 1987, a committee of faculty, staff, students and community members chose the name Darton College. "Darton" is an Old English word meaning "town by the water," which refers to Albany's location on the Flint River.
Campus
The 186 acre campus on Albany's western edge[3] includes a 470-seat theater, library, fitness center, computer labs, and sports facilities such as tennis and racquetball courts, indoor swimming pool, indoor bowling alley and climbing wall, with surrounding nature trails, soccer fields, and ball fields.
Student population
Darton College enrolls more than half of the area's high school graduates and approximately 45% of the students are from Dougherty County. (The population of the MSA was 162,800 in 2004.)[4] Approximately 1% of students are from out-of-state and about 100 are from other countries.
About 57% of Darton's students are under age 24. Approximately 45% are non-Hispanic black, and 50% are non-Hispanic white — no other group constitutes more than 3% (self-reported).
Full-time enrollment is approximately 47%.
Academics
The college offers 84 two-year transfer and career associate degrees and 45 certificate programs.
Distance learning
To increase access to a college education, Darton offers 39 fully online degrees, 10 partially online degrees, 13 fully online certificate programs, and over 96 individual distance learning courses over the Internet, through local Channel 19 telecasts, GVNS video-conferencing, and at sites off the main campus: Cordele, Thomasville, Colquitt, Rome, Barnesville, Columbus, Valdosta, Waycross, Sandersville, Swainboro, and Atlanta, Georgia. Darton College has a strong presence in state distance learning initiatives, and its core curriculum courses in many programs are available online.
Nursing Division
Darton's Nursing Division provides education for many of southwest Georgia's nurses — including 70% of all Registered Nurses (RNs) in Albany hospitals and 31% of all RNs in the hospitals of 38 southwest Georgia counties. As of spring 2005, the college had awarded 2,259 nursing degrees.[5]
Students completing the two-year nursing program earn an Associate of Science in Nursing degree and they are eligible to take licensure exams. Darton consistently has among the highest pass rates on the NCLEX-RN in the state, and graduates have a 100% success rate in seeking post-graduation employment.[5]
There is a "fast-track" program for paramedics and the division has satellite programs in nearby towns. Darton College received a $2.48 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor in 2005 to develop an online nursing program.
The program is accredited by the NLNAC.[6]
Allied Health Division
The Allied Health Division offers degrees in cardiovascular technology, dental hygiene, diagnostic medical sonography, emergency medical services, health information technology, medical laboratory technology, histology technology, medical laboratory technology, occupational therapy assistant, physical therapy assistant, and respiratory care.
In addition, certificates are offered in accelerated polysomnography, emergency medical services, histotechnology, medical billing and coding, and medical transcription.
Instructional technology
Darton is a leader in educational technology use. It has been named a “Most-Wired Campus” by Yahoo, and a “Leader in Digital Technology” by the American Association of Community Colleges. In addition to its huge variety of online course offerings, Darton makes increasing use of technologies such as Wimba Classroom, streaming media, and motion capture technology.
Extracurricular activities
Extracurricular activities include groups such as the Cultural Exchange Club, Book Talk and the Darton Association of Nursing Students, as well as intramural athletics, league tournament athletics, community service associations and honor societies.
Sports
Darton received the 2005–06 Trophy Cup from the GJCAA for having the top two-year athletic program in the state. Four of the college's teams went to nationals in 2006. The Men's Golf Team won the NJCAA National Championship for the second year in a row in 2006. Darton College men's golf team won the national title in 2005, 2006, 2007 and came runners up on 2008. The women's soccer team came national runners up in 2005 and have since been ranked highly in the NJCAA.
Darton's men and women swimming programs placed 3rd overall at the 2007 NJCAA National Championships with virtually every member on the competing roster securing All-American Honors. In addition, two of the swimmers won their events, making them national champions.
Darton College women's soccer team went all the way to the NJCAA National Championship game again in 2008 but lost 3-2. They finished ranked second in the nation. Their record was 23-1-1, an incredible achievement and something the community is very proud of.
Students are encouraged to participate in an array of Georgia Junior College Athletic Association/National Junior College Athletic Association intercollegiate athletics, including men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, golf and swimming, women's softball and basketball, and men's baseball and football, and wrestling.
References
- ^ "Semester Enrollment Report" (PDF). Office of Research and Policy Analysis. University System of Georgia. 2007-11-12. http://www.usg.edu/research/students/enroll/fy2011/fall_2010_ser.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
- ^ "Darton College Academics Page". http://www.darton.edu/programs/.
- ^ "About Darton College". http://www.darton.edu/visitors/about.php.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ a b [1]
- ^ [2]
External links
University System of Georgia Research Universities Regional Universities State Universities Albany State University • Armstrong Atlantic State University • Augusta State University • Clayton State University • Columbus State University • Fort Valley State University • Georgia College & State University • Georgia Southwestern State University • Kennesaw State University • North Georgia College & State University • Savannah State University • Southern Polytechnic State University (Southern Poly) • University of West GeorgiaState Colleges Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College • Atlanta Metropolitan College • College of Coastal Georgia • Dalton State College • Darton College • East Georgia College • Gainesville State College • Georgia Gwinnett College • Georgia Highlands College • Georgia Perimeter College • Gordon College • Macon State College • Middle Georgia College • South Georgia CollegeTwo-year Colleges Independent research unit Governing body Categories:- University System of Georgia
- Albany, Georgia
- Education in Dougherty County, Georgia
- Educational institutions established in 1963
- Universities and colleges in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
- Buildings and structures in Dougherty County, Georgia
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