What is CCN?

The Community College Network (CCN) is a two-way, interactive video network which links 24 community and junior college sites in the State of Mississippi. Two state university sites were also connected to CCN as a part of the original network plan. Each Community College Network site is installed with television monitors, cameras, and microphones.

Sites are configured into “conferences” at a central switching point which is located in Jackson, Mississippi, and participating sites can see and hear one another in a completely interactive environment. Mississippi’s community and junior colleges use the CCN to deliver credit coursework, non-credit instruction, staff development, workforce training, and to conduct administrative meetings.

The CCN also has the ability to connect with over 140 sites within the state through the Mississippi Interactive Video Network (MIVN). The MIVN is a network that includes the CCN plus sites located at K-12 schools and universities.

History of the CCN

The design and implementation of the Mississippi Community College Network (CCN) was based upon a demonstrated need to educate a greater number of the state’s health care professionals given Mississippi’s limited economic resources. In July of 1994, through a grant from the US Department of Agriculture, the CCN became operational and linked the main campuses of Mississippi’s 15 community and junior colleges with one another.

The network also included the Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service and the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The network was originally managed under the auspices of the Mississippi Community and Junior College Foundation. Since 1994, the Community College Network has grown to 28 total sites, and the responsibility for network coordination and management has been passed to the Mississippi State Board for Community and Junior Colleges (SBCJC).

A video network manager and network assistant at the SBCJC assist the community and junior colleges and other users with scheduling times and sites on the network.