Iḷisaġvik College is a public community college

Community college

A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...

 located in Barrow, Alaska

Barrow, Alaska

Barrow is the largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is one of the northernmost cities in the world and is the northernmost city in the United States of America, with nearby Point Barrow being the nation's northernmost point. Barrow's population was 4,212 at the...

, on the shore of the Arctic Ocean

Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...

. The College is the only tribally controlled college in Alaska and is the northernmost accredited community college in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Accredited in 2003 by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities is an independent, non-profit membership organization recognized by the United States Department of Education since 1952 and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the regional authority on educational quality and institutional...

, it offers Associate's degree

Associate's degree

An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...

s as well as one-year certificates. The College serves the North Slope Borough and the Inupiat people, and is dedicated to strengthening Inupiat culture, language, values and traditions. Ilisagvik College is sanctioned by the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS) tribal government. The Tuzzy Consortium Library is named after Evelyn Tuzroyluk Higbee, a member of the original Board of Higher Education for the college.

History

The college had its origins in 1986, when the North Slope Borough created the North Slope Higher Education Center, changing its name in 1991 to Arctic Sivunmun Iḷisaġvik College. In 1995 the school moved to the site previously used by the United States Naval Arctic Research Laboratory and the Borough passed an ordinance incorporating Iḷisaġvik College as a public and independent non-profit corporation. Iḷisaġvik College was the lead institution in the 1997 creation of the Consortium for Alaska Native Higher Education (CANHE).

External links

• Iḷisaġvik College