North Bay

So Much to Offer – GCSC’s North Bay Campus

The 120-acre North Bay Campus in Southport was established in 1990 to elevate law enforcement firearms and driver training in the region. In 1996, the high-tech Burn Building Training Simulator was added to enhance Firefighter training. In 1999, the Division of Public Safety moved from the Technology Building on the Panama City Campus to the Charles H. Abbott building at North Bay. In 2005, a proposal was made to use approximately 15 acres to relocate and expand the Bay County Emergency Operations Center. The joint-use facility was completed in 2010 with the opening of the College’s 50,000 square-foot Public Safety Building, which provides office, classroom, and training space to the Division, and is also home to the Bay County Emergency Services Department, the County 9-1-1 call/dispatch center, and the Emergency Operations Center.

Programs and Classes at the North Bay Campus

The North Bay center offers Public Safety Division programs for credit, including the Corrections Academy, Fire Academy and Law Enforcement Academy. But also offers advanced and specialized training, most of which are for credit, to officers who are already in the field.

Gulf Coast State College also offers non-credit and continuing education public safety courses on this campus including maritime STCW classes, security officer training, civilian handgun training, CPR and First Aid.

Classes outside the Public Safety Division are also taught occasionally at the North Bay Campus. Check the course schedule for general education courses offered on the North Bay Campus.

The Gulf Coast Criminal Justice Selection Center on the North Bay Campus offers Equivalency of Training (EOT) assessments for former Florida officers and out of state officers who would like to be exempted from basic training. In addition, the selection center offers the following tests:

• Florida Basic Abilities Test (CJBAT)  - (*Note:  Prior to taking the CJBAT you must present a valid state issued drivers license and your Social Security Card, no copies of either drivers license or Social Security Card will be accepted.)
• Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE)
• National Criminal Justice Officer Selection Inventory (NCJOSI)
• State Officer Certification Examination
• State Fire Certification

Once an equivalency of training exemption by the Criminal Justice Selection Center, officers are eligible for law enforcement officer and correctional officer proficiency training courses through Gulf Coast State College.

Campus Highlights

The North Bay Campus houses lab and training facilities for all of Gulf Coast State College’s Public Safety Division programs, including:

• Paramedic/EMT Indoor Training Lab
• Vehicle Operations and Extractions Range
• Evidence Processing Training Lab
• Firearms Training Range Facility
• Use-of-Force/Firearms Simulation Lab
• State Approved Burn Building
• Outdoor Drill and Prop Field
• Jail Cell Training Lab

 Academic offices for the Public Safety Division, including public safety advisors, program managers and faculty, are also located on the North Bay Campus. Textbooks for public safety classes are available at the North Bay Campus Bookstore.