Western Oklahoma State College

Community college in Altus, Oklahoma, U.S.

Western Oklahoma State College

Motto| A Smart Start
Type| Public community college
Established| 1926
President| Dr. Chad Wiginton
Undergraduates| 1,500
Location|

Altus

Oklahoma

United States

Colors| Green and Gold
Nickname| Western
Mascot| Pioneers
Website| wosc.edu

Western Oklahoma State College is a public community college in Altus, Oklahoma.

## History

[edit]

Western Oklahoma State College was founded in 1926 under the name Altus Junior College. In 1974 state legislature changed its name to the present Western Oklahoma State College.

In 2012, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that NCAA athletes had allegedly been taking 10-day online courses from Western Oklahoma when they don't meet academic standards at their own institutions. Western Oklahoma former president Phil Birdine defended the program, saying the school was "not a course mill."[1] The college ceased offering the courses in early 2013 after the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education recommended the courses be immediately discontinued.[2] Nevertheless, the college's regional accreditor placed the college on probation in April after they "found the college's 10-day accelerated online courses don't meet quality and rigor standards required of compressed-format courses."[3]

## Athletics

[edit]

WOSC is involved in intercollegiate sports such as men's basketball, women's basketball, softball, baseball, rodeo, and cheerleading.

Under coach Kurt Russell, WOSC has recently built a highly successful baseball program. The school is especially noted for its success in recruiting Latino players from northeastern cities such as New York City and Philadelphia, and from Latin American countries. The team has made it to the national junior college Division II World Series in each of the last four seasons,[4] and in 2011 WOSC defeated Mississippi's Jones County Junior College to win the national championship.[5] Notably, multiple alumni have gone on to play professionally in MLB, including Andrelton Simmons, Josh James, Juan Perez, Casey Sadler, and Angel Castro.[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Wolverton, Brad (9 November 2011). "Need 3 Quick Credits to Play Ball? Call Western Oklahoma". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
2. ^ Silas Allen (January 30, 2013). "Western Oklahoma State College will stop offering quick-credit courses, officials announce". The Oklahoman. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
3. ^ Silas Allen (April 19, 2013). "Western Oklahoma State College on probation after review of online courses". The Oklahoman. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
4. ^ Jorge Castillo, "Latino Players Find Home on the Prairie", The New York Times, October 11, 2011.
5. ^ Lee Coleman, "Western KOs Jones County for Juco crown", Enid News & Eagle, June 4, 2011.
6. ^ "Western Oklahoma State College (Altus, OK) Baseball Players".

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

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Colleges and universities in Oklahoma

Public institutions|

| The University of Oklahoma system|

* Cameron University
* Rogers State University
* University of Oklahoma

|

Oklahoma Agricultural & Mechanical Colleges system|

* Connors State College
* Langston University
* Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College
* Oklahoma Panhandle State University
* Oklahoma State University–Stillwater

Regional University System of Oklahoma|

* University of Central Oklahoma
* East Central University
* Northeastern State University
* Northwestern Oklahoma State University
* Southeastern Oklahoma State University
* Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Independent|

* University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma

Private institutions|

* Bacone College
* Randall University
* Mid-America Christian University
* Oklahoma Baptist University
* Oklahoma Christian University
* Oklahoma City University
* Oklahoma Wesleyan University
* Oral Roberts University
* Phillips Theological Seminary
* St. Gregory's University
* Southern Nazarene University
* Southwestern Christian University
* Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology
* University of Tulsa

Community colleges|

* Carl Albert State College
* Eastern Oklahoma State College
* Murray State College
* Northern Oklahoma College
* Oklahoma City Community College
* Redlands Community College
* Rose State College
* Seminole State College
* Tulsa Community College
* Western Oklahoma State College

34°40′08″N 99°20′14″W﻿ / ﻿34.66889°N 99.33722°W﻿ / 34.66889; -99.33722

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States

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