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 opportunity within the City University of New York (CUNY) system. Founded in 1963, KCC has a rich history of providing access, excellence, and opportunity to students in Brooklyn and beyond. With a commitment to serving a diverse student body and enhancing learning opportunities, Kingsborough has earned recognition as a leader among community colleges nationwide.

General Information

Kingsborough Community College of the City University of New York is seated on 72 acres located in Kings county. Its campus is located in a city with a total enrollment of 15,116. The school utilizes a semester-based academic year. The student-faculty ratio is 22-to-1. The highest degree offered at CUNY Kingsborough Community College is an associate degree. The school has an open admissions policy.

Campus and Location

Located in Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, the 70-acre campus overlooks Sheepshead Bay, Jamaica Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean. The college enjoys a spectacular waterfront setting. A working lighthouse, # 34360, sits atop the Marine Academic Center (MAC). The Marine and Academic Center (MAC), whose iconic beacon is a registered lighthouse (USCG 1-34360). The library at Kingsborough Community College is named after former City University of New York Chancellor Robert Kibbee. The Robert J. Kibbee Library supports the infrastructure for teaching and learning, scholarship and research. The 743-seat Leon M. Goldstein Performing Arts Center at Kingsborough was named in honor of Leon M. Goldstein.

Academic Programs and Features

Kingsborough Community College is a comprehensive community college, offering 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. Students can earn degrees and certificates in 46 different fields. Popular programs include: Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies, Business Administration and Management, General, and Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration.

Kingsborough 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.

The college offers a number of programs for special populations, including the My Turn Program for senior citizens, College Now, a unique partnership with area high schools that was developed at Kingsborough and is now being replicated by colleges throughout the City, and the Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences.

The following special programs are offered: 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.

Effective Fall 2013, The City University of New York implemented the Pathways initiative across its undergraduate colleges. Candidates for the Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree must satisfactorily complete required credits from a wide range of Liberal Arts subjects. Candidates for the Associate in Science (A.S.) degree follow programs which closely parallel the A.A. program, but have a greater concentration in a single subject area. Candidates for the Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree follow programs which concentrate in applied 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.

KCC Flex

Recognizing the desire to meet the multi-faceted needs of all students, Kingsborough Community College has launched KCC Flex a new initiative to meet the needs of today’s busy students. KCC Flex offers adult, and non-traditional and stop-out students a combination of alternative and accelerated scheduling, expedited application and admissions processes, dedicated enrollment and academic coaches. KCC Flex offers a fully online A.A. in Liberal Arts, A.S. in Business Administration, and A.S. 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.

Special Programs Accreditation

The Chemical Dependency Program and the Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counseling Certificate are accredited by the National Addiction Studies Accreditation Commission (NASAC), 1001 N. Fairfax Street, Suite 201, Alexandria, VA 22314 or phone (703) 548-0885.

The Nursing Program is approved by the New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions, Division of Professional Licensing Services Nurse Unit, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234-1000 or phone (518) 474-3817, ext. 591 or email [email protected].

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, 875 Central Avenue, Albany, NY 12206 or phone (518) 402-0996. The Kingsborough Community College Paramedic Program has initial accreditation 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.

Student Life

Kingsborough Community College serves a widely diverse student population, represented by 142 national backgrounds and 73 national languages. The college strives to provide courses in all scheduling formats that facilitate student success while supporting the most conducive path to timely degree completion. Students also enjoy a wide range of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities both on and off-campus.

Student Demographics (Fall 2022)

Full-time enrollment: 6,854
Part-time enrollment: 8,262

Age Distribution:

Under 18: 32%
18-24: 47%
25-64: 21%
Over 65: 0%

Kingsborough 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.

Read also: Tuition at Kingsborough

Campus Resources and Services

Consistent with its Mission Statement, Kingsborough Community College takes pride in providing comprehensive services that address student needs in order to support academic success.

Employment services for students: Yes
Credit for life experiences: N/A
Academic/career counseling service: Yes
Placement services for completers: Yes
On-campus day care for students' children: Yes

Technology and Facilities

Our facilities support our varied academic programs. The Office of Information Technology Services (ITS), working in collaboration with Academic Affairs, aims to promote the effective integration of technology into teaching and learning. 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. These labs serve to meet a wide variety of academic needs and are as varied as 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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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.

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.

Kingsborough’s open computer labs are designed for multidisciplinary use by registered students and provide 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.

Financial Information

Tuition & Fees (2020-2021)

In-state tuition and fees: $5,252
Out-of-state tuition and fees: $8,132
Books and supplies: $1,364
Application fee: $65

Financial Aid (2022-2023)

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 Accreditation

Kingsborough Community College recently celebrated 60 years of teaching and learning effectiveness. 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.

Kingsborough Community College is committed to enhancing learning opportunities for the Brooklyn community. The 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.

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