Investing in the SCV’s future

Logix Federal Credit Union pledges financial support for College of the Canyons’ First Year Promise program

During this holiday season, Logix Federal Credit Union pledged $10,000 to support College of the Canyons’ First Year Promise program, which gives firstyear, full-time students the opportunity to attend COC tuition and fee free during their first year.

This pledge is expected to provide 10 First Year Promise students with a $1,000 scholarship in 2018 and 2019. It also supports the COC Foundation’s goal to fundraise $500,000 during the next two years to ensure the success of the new program.

“College of the Canyons is a valued partner in the community, and this program is a great example of why,” said Logix Executive Vice President Andrea Carpenter in a statement. “We want to be part of sharing First-Year Promise with the college and we look forward to helping further this program.”

The credit union also donated $2,000 in proceeds from a recent Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce mixer to the Foundation’s First Year Promise pledge.

“We are so grateful to Logix for their generous donation to the FirstYear Promise program,” said Murray Wood, chief development officer of the COC Foundation in a statement. “Their donation will help ensure the academic success of future First-Year Promise students at College of the Canyons.”

First Year Promise

COC’s First Year Promise program was first launched in fall 2017 after the college was awarded a $750,000 grant from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to support College Promise partnerships.

As one of 14 colleges chosen for the partnership, the grant financially supported the first two years of COC’s First Year Promise program and allowed the college to develop the offerings of its program.

“The First Year Promise program gives qualified incoming students the opportunity to attend College of the Canyons tuition-free and fee-free for their first fall and spring semester,” Eric Harnish, COC’s vice president of public information, advocacy and external relations told The Signal in March. “We estimate that student that participates will save about $1,500.”

COC’s program also gave selected students digital textbooks, ongoing counseling and support, $100 supplies vouchers each semester, free parking and/or bus passes, free printing abilities, priority registration and orientation sessions.

Students selected for the program are required to maintain 12 units, enroll in the spring and keep a minimum 2.5 GPA. They also must enroll in courses, like counseling, math, English and freshman seminar, with other First Year Promise students in the summer and fall.

In its first year, the program benefited nearly 200 first-year, full-time students at COC.

“It has impacted my life a lot,” said Itziely Beltran, a graduate of Valencia High School and a COC First Year Promise student. “I was worried I wasn’t going to take the classes I needed or that I would fall behind. The guidance has been very helpful; I think that’s one of the biggest things for the First Year Promise is the guidance.”

Following the success of the program, California is hoping to extend the College Promise initiative to all 114 community colleges in the state.

With the passage with Assembly Bill 19 or the California College Promise, in October, the program is expected to extend to all first-year, full-time students at community colleges in the state.

This bill would require community colleges to waive students’ first-year tuition fees as long as they are enrolled in 12 or more semester units.

The California Senate Appropriations Committee predicted that this program would benefit an additional 19,000 community college students and save students anywhere from $1,100 to $1,400 per year, depending on their course load.