College of the Canyons (COC) officials announced Thursday that the school has been named a 2018 Champion of Higher Education for Excellence in Transfer by The Campaign for College Opportunity.

COC is one of 12 California community colleges that have significantly increased the number of students earning an Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) in recent years, according to school officials.

“It is an honor to be recognized as a Champion of Higher Education for Excellence in Transfer,” said COC Chancellor Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook. “Our continuous efforts to eliminate achievement gaps and increase transfer rates have yielded tremendous results for our students.”

Over the course of the last four years in which the first Associate Degree for Transfers were awarded, the number of students completing the program has grown 703 percent, according to officials.

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“College of the Canyons is a leading example of strong implementation of the associate degree for transfer pathway for students and a model for other colleges in California to emulate,” said Michele Siqueiros, president of The Campaign for College Opportunity.

Currently, COC offers 27 Associate Degree for Transfer opportunities, which enable students to transition to California State University campuses.

Known as “a degree with a guarantee,” the associate degrees for transfer provide students with guaranteed admission to a California State University if they earn an associate in arts transfer or associate in science transfer degree and meet the California State University minimum eligibility requirements.

“To date, over 100,000 students have earned an Associate Degree for Transfer, and of those who enrolled in the CSU, they earned their Bachelor’s degree nearly twice as fast as other transfer students,” said Siqueiros.

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 when it sponsored historic transfer reform legislation in 2010.

COC, along with other community colleges and California State University campus honorees, is set to be recognized at the 3rd Annual Champions of Higher Education celebration on Tuesday, Dec. 4 in Los Angeles.

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