About County College
"Better government through education" is the purpose of County College. County College works through the guidelines of the National Certified Public Manager Consortium to develop certification programs and works with the affiliates of the New Mexico Association of Counties to develop affiliate-specific curricula.
County College began as a dream of the late Sam Montoya, the executive director of the New Mexico Association of Counties in 2002, who asked New Mexico State University's Cooperative Extension Service to develop an educational program for New Mexico's county officials and employees. Courses based on the Certified Public Officials model used in other states began being delivered in late 2004.
In 2008, the NMSU Department of Government became a regular partner in County College and introduced the nationally accredited Certified Public Manager Program. Curriculum committees to fully develop core programs and affilate-specific educational programs were established. Awarding of NMSU Continuing Education Units for County College courses was also started in 2008.