Best Community Colleges: East San Gabriel Valley Regional Occupational Program & Technical Center (CA)

Best Community Colleges: East San Gabriel Valley Regional Occupational Program & Technical Center (CA)

East San Gabriel Valley ROP/TC, located in West Covina, California, is one of 72 regional occupational programs (ROPs) in the state of California.

An ROP focuses on practical, hands-on career preparation and career guidance and is designed to provide high school and adult students with the technical skills required for specific jobs. Most of the classes offer community-based internships, in local business and industry sites.

East San Gabriel Valley ROP/TC provides core majors of study such as: Business Management, Child development, Criminal Justice, Green Facilities Management, Health Science and Visual Communication. The Center partners with over 250 businesses and over 40 support service agencies to provide these unified educational experiences.

The center has articulation agreements with the following community colleges and private post-secondary institutions:

• Citrus College
• Rio Hondo College
• Mt. San Antonio College
• Mt. Sierra College
• Pacific Oaks
• Westwood College
• DeVry
• ITT Tech

These agreements allow students, who successfully completed selected courses, to enroll in training programs at the community college, without having to repeat previously covered materials.

The community college ranked #1 in the CNN Money listing of community colleges in 2012

 

Read More

Best Community Colleges: Santa Barbara City College (CA)

 

Best Community Colleges: Santa Barbara City College (CA)

The 104-year-old Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) is located in Santa Barbara, California, on a campus surrounded by stunning ocean views. The junior college serves the south coast of Santa Barbara County.

The community college offers more than 50 certificate programs and 80 degrees, with an average class size of 28. SBCC has an enrollment of 20,000 students, of which 7,500+ are full-time.

57% of full-time students at SBCC transfer to four-year colleges; more than half of those ultimately earn a bachelor’s degree. Agreements with 76 colleges (in and out of California) guarantee that SBCC credits are accepted for transfer; several schools ensure admission if a student meets academic requirements. The college’s Transfer Achievement Program (TAP) helps students make informed decisions in their planning for the transition from SBCC to a four-year university.

SBCC’s Express-to-Success program uses small learning communities to assist students through first-year remedial courses to yield a significant rise in students’ course completion.

The college has a diverse student population and serves many traditionally underserved students, including an ever-increasing population of Hispanics. Hispanic students, who consist of 30+% of the student population, have achieved a notable three year-graduation/transfer rate of 48%.

Aspen Institute named Santa Barbara City College the 2013 co-winner of its prestigious Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. The Aspen Institute also recognized the college as a 2011 Finalist for the same prize. Santa Barbara City College ranked #23 in the CNN Money listing of community colleges in 2012.

 

Read More