President's Message

Welcome to Tohono O’odham Community College, the southernmost tribal college in the United States. TOCC is in the heart of the great Sonoran Desert, home to the Tohono O’odham (Desert People). Like its 36 sister colleges in the tribal college movement, TOCC provides quality “mainstream education” plus an experience rich in culture, language, and tradition.

President's Message

Welcome to Tohono O’odham Community College, the southernmost tribal college in the United States. TOCC is in the heart of the great Sonoran Desert, home to the Tohono O’odham (Desert People). Like its 36 sister colleges in the tribal college movement, TOCC provides quality “mainstream education” plus an experience rich in culture, language, and tradition.

Because of its small size, and its commitment to values rooted in the O’odham Himdag, (cultural ways and practices), the College is known for the “student centered” experience it offers. Students in small classroom settings, similar to those in graduate seminars, discuss and engage with highly qualified faculty and staff on a daily basis. TOCC students are never a “number.”

Small class sizes help students develop critical thinking skills and can fire their imaginations. Such experiences are a formula for success. In fact, research shows that students who attend tribal colleges before they go on to earn four-year degrees are more likely to succeed than those who go directly into four-year colleges and universities.

TOCC offers open enrollment, meaning that all are welcome, and it offers students on and off the Tohono O’odham Nation the opportunity to earn accredited certificates and degrees that are fully transferable to four-year colleges and universities.

TOCC provides a solid range of choices for students. A number of academic and building construction technology programs provide a broad range of opportunities for students. Science, business, early childhood education, social services, Tohono O’odham Studies, and building construction technology programs provide sought- after skills and a pathway to four-year degrees upon graduation.

I hope you find your visit to our website an interesting one. If you are a prospective student, or are simply interested in TOCC, please contact us if you have questions or suggestions.

Sincerely,

Paul M. Robertson, Ph.D.
President

2020