Nebraska’s Panhandle has been served for 90 years by Western Nebraska Community College (WNCC) by educating the residents and making a path for the future for all ages. There are three campus locations in Alliance, Scottsbluff, and Sidney. WNCC offers possibilities for students, the regional business community, and other partners throughout 12 ½ county service area. With over 70 degrees, diplomas, and certificates offered WNCC was able to provide 2100 credit to students full and part-time and between 10,000 – 12,000 non-credit students via corporate training. All this can be done by utilizing 309 employees in total. WNCC has 275 employees at the Scottsbluff campus, 22 employees in Sidney, and 12 employees serving in Alliance.
The Alliance Campus began as The Alliance School of Practical Nursing at St. Joseph’s Hospital in 1957. 25 years later, in 1982, they merged with Nebraska Western College in Scottsbluff to become the Nebraska Western College of Practical Nursing Program. 6 short years later The Western Technical Community College Area Board of Governors discontinued using separate campus names and changed the name of the college to Western Nebraska Community College. In 1998, The Alliance Center relocated to the new Alliance Learning Center, constructed by the City of Alliance, adjacent to Alliance Public Schools. The Alliance Center, City of Alliance, and the electrical distribution industry in the panhandle collaborated to develop the Powerline Maintenance & Construction Technology program. A new facility was built to house the program, located on Highway 2 east of Alliance in 2006. In December of 2007, the Western Community College Area Board of Governors voted to change the designations of the Sidney site to Sidney Campus and change the designation of the Alliance site from Alliance Center to Alliance Campus. Most recently, in 2016, the Powerline Maintenance & Construction Program reached their 10 year anniversary.