For CSN, Las Vegas City Hall is now its campus

By Paul Takahashi

Friday, Aug. 16, 2013 | 11 p.m.

The College of Southern Nevada has partnered with the city of Las Vegas to provide job training and college classes at City Hall.

This partnership, hailed by officials as the first of its kind nationally, will allow Las Vegas residents and city employees to take academic courses as well as literacy, ESL and GED classes in the evenings and weekends at City Hall’s first floor classroom space. The two-year community college also will offer consulting services to local businesses and certification exams for various careers at the City Hall’s third-floor office space.

“We are proud to welcome some of the instructional staff and curricular programs of the College of Southern Nevada to a new home at City Hall,” Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said in a statement. “This innovative partnership has students walking the halls of our building, taking classes and creating an exceptional experience.”

The workforce training, computer classes and job search services are already being offered at City Hall. CSN’s academic courses will be rolled out at City Hall starting this school year. City officials held a grand opening for CSN’s new office and classroom spaces last week.

CSN has collaborated with other governmental entities to educate Las Vegans over the last several years, including partnerships with UNLV, the Clark County School District and Las Vegas Fire and Rescue.

“CSN is eager to make a contribution to the dynamic downtown community,” Dan Gouker, executive director of CSN’s division of workforce and economic development, said in a statement. “This kind of public-public partnership is rare elsewhere and a great example of the ongoing regional collaborations that are strengthening our metropolitan area’s economic health and wellbeing.”