The four community college districts covering all of northern Arizona have entered into a historic partnership agreement to help better serve students.

The presidents of Coconino Community College, Mohave Community College, Northland Pioneer College, and Yavapai College recently signed an intergovernmental agreement called the Northern Arizona Community College Partnership (NACCP).

The NACCP calls on the districts to collaborate and combine resources to better serve citizens and communities throughout northern Arizona. This includes sharing college courses to improve student success and completion and enhancing workforce development by utilizing each district's vast array of unique programs.

“Yavapai College is grateful for the opportunity to partner with our sister institutions to create a lasting impact for our students,” said Dr. Lisa B. Rhine, President of Yavapai College. “Coconino, Mohave, Northland Pioneer, and Yavapai all share the same intrinsic goals of providing education that is accessible and affordable to the residents of Northern Arizona.”

The innovative agreement states that the districts will “exercise efficient and maximal use of available educational resources through common and complementary resources of each institution.”

The colleges will specifically focus efforts to collaborate in areas of credit and non-credit offerings, curriculum development, data sharing, business functions, student services, and other support services to provide a cooperative higher education network for residents of Northern Arizona which includes Mohave, Navajo, Apache, Yavapai and Coconino Counties.

The four northern Arizona college districts will also work together to strengthen their partnerships with K-12 institutions, universities, and workforce development partners.

Board members from each district have approved the agreement, and the districts began working together under the agreement on October 1, 2022.