Joins with Faulker, Alabama Southern 

The Jefferson Davis Community College will soon have a new name after it and its counterparts Faulkner State and Alabama Southern community colleges consolidate into what will be known as Coastal Alabama Community College.

The board of trustees for the Alabama Community College System unanimously approved the consolidation of three colleges during a board meeting Wednesday.

The new name was among 50 presented to stakeholders.

The consolidated school will be known as Coastal Alabama Community College, the choice from among 50 names presented to stakeholders.

Gary Branch, the president of Faulkner State, is the lead president on the consolidation.

The consolidation approval will now be taken to the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). One SACS approval is received, the board will give final approval, which is expected to take place in December or January.

JDCC interim president Dr. William “Bill” Blow outlined a more definitive timeline Tuesday. He said the consolidation’s SACS approval prospectus will be submitted Sept. 1 and a Sept. 9 approval from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education is expected.

“Then, on Sept. 14, the state Community College System Board of Trustees will consider the administrative and programmatic consolidation of all three institutions,” Blow said.

From there, SACS approval is expected to come in early December with a January 2017 implementation date.

“Actions by the Community College System Board of Trustees and the Alabama commission on Higher Education are preliminary steps to the approval of SACSCOC in December,” he said.

There has been no official word on how the merger will impact athletics or academics in Brewton; however, Blow said it is believed that athletics at each site will remain unchanged.