San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Community colleges offer diverse degree choices, affordability, lifestyle amenities
Baryoh was just 11 years old and living in his war-torn country of Sierra Leone in West Africa, when he knew his life had to change. After witnessing a close friend get killed, he dreamed of escaping the horrible violence and finding a better future.
At the age of 16, he managed to escape to the Netherlands, where he was accepted into a university and worked very hard to become a registered nurse. Yet opportunities for employment there were very limited. So he decided to immigrate to America.
That meant he had to start his education over, so he chose to enroll in Sacramento City College, drawn by the education he could receive tuition-free through the California Promise Program. Established in 2016, the program now funds nearly 120 California community colleges through CCCApply (https://www.cccapply. org/en/money/californiacollege-promise-grant), and means students like Baryoh are able to move on to a four-year universities without the burden of student loan debt.
Working with another new program, the Los Rios Promise Program, Baryoh was able to receive critical scholarship money for textbooks, transportation and other school needs, too.
His is just one of the many success stories from the four Los Rios colleges — American River College, Cosumnes River College, Folsom Lake College and Sacramento City College — that serve nearly 70,000 students throughout the region.
As the cost of going to universities and colleges continues to grow, community colleges are an increasingly viable option for many students’ first two years of school.
Already, California’s community colleges make up the largest higher education system in the world, according to the California’s Community College Association, and serve 73% of all students enrolled in the state’s higher education. The colleges also enroll more minority students than any other higher education system.
“The Los Rios Community College District’s core mission is to empower all students to achieve their educational and career goals,” said Los Rios Associate Vice Chancellor of Strategy and Communications Gabe Ross, noting that the organization is particularly focused on historically underserved, low-income communities. “Certainly, the affordability of California community colleges is a large draw, particularly for first-generation college students.”
Getting that aid is easier than ever, he added. As the college’s website promises, “When you apply now, you guarantee your admission to Los Rios. After that, fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act Application (CADAA) to save money on tuition and other fees. It’s as simple as that.”
But whatever the school, saving money isn’t the only consideration — a top quality education and quality of life are priorities, too. These days, more and more two-year colleges also offer bells and whistles, including 100-plus degree choices, expansively outfitted campuses with robust lifestyle amenities and highly regarded certifications that welcome graduates into follow-up schools and lucrative employment.
“Many families for whom cost is not a factor will likely continue to lean toward the prestige of some private colleges,” acknowledged Santa Rosa Junior College Director of District & Community Relations Erin Bricker. “However, the idea that only highcost institutions provide high-quality education is simply not true.”
In fact, making that assumption without ample research can affect any student’s future for a long time to come.
“There are many people who go to private schools under that presumption who end up taking on very high levels of debt,” Bricker explained. “I think many people are realizing that you can obtain the same high-quality education at a community college for far less and very often tuition-free.”
Indeed, when Sonoma County’s Santa Rosa Junior College was founded 104 years ago, the vision was that it would be a pathway specifically to UC Berkeley. As it turned out, the community college was so successful that it became the feeder school model for the larger University of California system.
“Sonoma County was a primarily agricultural community then, and there was a desire to give the next generation options to pursue their education,” Bricker said. “That’s one of the reasons SRJC has such high standards today — we wanted students to be well prepared for the rigors of four-year institutions. And now, we transfer students to all UC campuses and other colleges all over the country.”
For this fall’s enrollment, Santa Rosa Junior College serves 19,238 students, spanning five locations across the main central Santa Rosa campus, Petaluma, southwest Santa Rosa Center, a Public Safety Training Center in Windsor and Shone Farm in Forestville. Extensive programming offers 111 for-credit majors, 149 certificates and 20 non-credit certificates, including core majors ranging from Administration of Justice to Wine Studies, and covering classics like art history, economics, physics and sociology.
Los Rios, meanwhile, enrolls about 70,000 stuSheku dents in its four colleges, offering more than a hundred programs of study ranging from American Sign Language interpretation to geology, interior design and psychology.
Then there is City College of San Francisco, an urban community college serving more than 60,000 students annually at several centers and sites throughout San Francisco. Its mission focuses on offering an affordable opportunity to earn associate degrees, prepare for transfer and pursue career and technical education.
Like City College, many community colleges excel in strong vocational education programs for students wanting quick entry into employment.
Santa Rosa Junior College’s Shone Farm is a 365-acre outdoor, hands-on learning laboratory for its Agriculture and Natural Resources department, for example. Students can learn about land management, crop production and making olive oil and Russian River wines as one of only three bonded wineries operating in the California community college system. Other skill training that supports highpaying careers includes welding and automotive technology.
Additionally, the school is well known for its Culinary Arts: Restaurant Management program, training students in all health, safety, economic and labor management requirements for operating a successful restaurant. The Santa Rosa campus runs its own Alex Ling Bakery and Culinary Café Rose, a by-reservation business open to the public and operated by students.
Los Rios focuses on offering degree and certificate programs with “realworld applicability,” too, Ross noted. The Advanced Manufacturing program covers career pathways such as welding, machining and industrial maintenance, while the Public Safety and Service program includes police work, emergency response and disaster relief.
At the same time, more community colleges are working to satisfy lifestyle needs for a full, satisfying college experience instead of just work and study programs.
“SRJC has amenities comparable to any fouryear school, including quality athletics, theater, student clubs, campus life and much more,” said Bricker, of programs like its Robert F. Agrella Art Gallery that hosts studentcreated art shows and sports teams that have collected 20 state titles and 75 Big 8 conference titles and include novel activities like water polo and ice hockey. “We will be opening our new dorms in August 2023, too, so students will even be able to live on campus and avoid the high housing costs in Sonoma County.”
Los Rios, meanwhile, beckons with study abroad opportunities in cities such as London, England; Barcelona, Spain and Florence, Italy. And City College of San Francisco supports 15 athletic teams, dance, theater, concerts and art shows, plus The Dr. Betty Shabazz Family Resource Center for free childcare during class time, a quiet space to do homework in a child-friendly computer lab and a network of other student parents.
Taking the next step to transition from its programs into a four-year school is increasingly easy.
The Los Rios colleges offer extensive academic counseling and transfer services with a strong track record of graduates moving on to a variety of fouryear universities, including the University of California and California State University systems, private colleges and out-of-state colleges. Los Rios actually offers a transfer admission guarantee to numerous four-year institutions, Ross said.
“The SRJC Transfer Center offers academic counseling, workshops, an annual transfer fair, connection to college representatives, campus tours, information on important dates and deadlines, a computer lab to conduct college research and informative staff to answer any questions our students have,” Brinker said.
The faculty and management teams are constantly working to enhance the learning experience, she added.
“We have to fight the stigma that community colleges provide a lesser education,” she said. “SRJC provides the same academic rigor as a fouryear institution for a fraction of the price and often for free. We’ve graduated 1.7 million students who have achieved amazing things and who show that these stigmas are wrong.”
Advertising Feature • Education Guide • Sunday, September 25, 2022