College of Southern Nevada Profile

Located primarily in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, The College of Southern Nevada (CSN) is a comprehensive educational institution within the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE).  Founded in 1971 as Clark County Community College, its name changed in 1991 to the Community College of Southern Nevada and in 2007 to the College of Southern Nevada. CSN serves a diverse population in southern Nevada through five educational areas:  occupational training, university transfer preparation, workforce and economic development, developmental education and counseling and guidance.  These services correlate with community needs to enhance the quality of life of individuals residing in the college’s service area.  CSN operates three main campuses and other academic centers in Clark and Lincoln counties.

CSN is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities to award the Associate Degree; CSN also has been granted informal candidacy at the baccalaureate level while retaining accreditation status at the associate degree level.

With a student population of 38,990 students in the Fall 2007 semester, CSN is the largest higher education institution in Nevada and the most diverse, with no ethnic majority, students from 48 states and over 700 international students from over 60 countries.  For complete demographic information, please visit the college’s division of Institutional Research and Planning at http://www.csn.edu/pages/501.asp.

The Nevada State Constitution provides for the control of the NSHE to be vested with the Board of Regents.  It is the function of the Regents to approve or reject policies proposed by the College administration.  Only in the most unusual circumstances would the Board of Regents concern itself with the details of administration.  Based upon recommendations and data presented by the College administration, the Board of Regents determines the general method through which administrative duties are handles and permits the administration to apply policies to solve problems.

The Nevada System of Higher Education includes the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR); the Desert Research Institute (DRI); Nevada State College (NSC); Great Basin College (GBC); Western Nevada College (WNC); and Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC).  For further information about NSHE, please visit http://system.nevada.edu/.