College of the Canyons was recognized as a 2018 Champion of Higher Education for Excellence at the third annual Champions of Higher Education celebration earlier this month.

On Dec. 4, the college was one of 12 California community colleges that were honored by The Campaign for College Opportunity for significantly increasing the number of students earning an associate degrees for transfer, according to officials.

“We are honored to have been recognized as a 2018 Champion of Higher Education for Excellence,” said College of the Canyons Chancellor Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook. “The success of our ADT programs can be attributed to the hard work from faculty, as well as our Curriculum Committee and Academic Affairs department. As we enter a new year, we commit to continuing to find and create ways to eliminate achievement gaps and increase transfer rates for our students.”

College of the Canyons currently offers 27 associate degrees for transfer, which enable students to transition to California State University campuses.

Known as “a degree with a guarantee,” associate degrees for transfer provide students with guaranteed admission to a CSU if they earn an associate in arts transfer or associate in science transfer degree, while meeting the CSU minimum eligibility requirements, according to officials.

Between 2013, when the first ADTs were awarded, and 2017, the number of degrees awarded at the college has grown 703 percent, according to school officials.

The Campaign for College Opportunity helped to create a clearer path for students to earn an associate degree and guaranteed admission to the California State University (CSU) system when it sponsored historic transfer reform legislation in 2010.

The Campaign for College Opportunity is a non-profit organization that works toward increasing the number of California students attending two and four-year colleges.

For more information about the Campaign for College Opportunity, visit the website here.

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