Jones College (Florida)

Jones College was a private college in Jacksonville, Florida. Founded in 1918, the college was non-profit and had an undergraduate body of roughly 350 students. It offered courses in business, education, management, medical assistant training, computer science and general studies. The school was not regionally accredited, although it was nationally accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS).

Jones College
Former names
Jones Business College
TypePrivate college
Active1918–2017
AccreditationACICS
PresidentMayra Nunez
ProvostKatherine Dane
Academic staff
50
Students350
Location, ,
United States
Colors   White and Blue
Websitejones.edu

On December 12, 2016, John King Jr., the United States Secretary of Education, finalized the process of revoking the U.S. Department of Education's recognition of ACICS as an accreditor.[1][2] Subsequently, Jones College announced it would close on December 31, 2017. Its last classes were held in August 2017.[3]

Campuses edit

 
Main campus

The college's main campus was located in the Arlington neighborhood of Jacksonville at the foot of the Mathews Bridge. The school also offered distance learning, and had a student to faculty ratio of 12:1 in on-campus classrooms.

History edit

Jones College, originally Jones Business College, held its first classes in a private home. It later became the first business college to have a student dormitory.[3]

The school had national accreditation from the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS). It was certified to operate in Florida by the Commission for Independent Education (CIE) and approved by CIE to grant degrees at both the associate's level and the bachelor's level of academic study.[4] By the end of its operation, Jones College offered degrees in business and information technology, as well as medical, legal and educational fields.[3]

Jones College students were to transfer to Keiser University to complete their coursework.[3]

Radio edit

Jones College previously operated 2 Radio stations, WKTZ-FM (90.9 MHz) and WJAX (1220 AM). WKTZ-FM aired a beautiful music format, branded as "Jones College Radio", while WJAX aired syndicated programming from America's Best Music.

Both stations were sold to Educational Media Foundation in November 2014, and their formats were replaced with Religious programming.[5]

After the sale, Jones College Radio continued to stream online until September 6, 2022.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ "ACICS Loss of Accreditation Recognition". Retrieved 2017-04-10.
  2. ^ "Education Department Establishes Enhanced Federal Aid Participation Requirements for ACICS-accredited Colleges". United States Department of Education. Press Release. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d Harris, Jenese. "After nearly a century, Jones College closing by end of year". News4Jax. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Jones College Catalog" Jones College.
  5. ^ "Jacksonville's Jones College Radio vanishes from the airwaves Thursday in wake of sale". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  6. ^ "Listening no more: The 'beautiful music' first played at Jones College in 1964 comes to an end". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2023-07-26.

External links edit

30°19′40″N 81°36′35″W / 30.3278812°N 81.6097152°W / 30.3278812; -81.6097152