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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Unique Van Hook Center at COC Nears Completion

Aware of the dearth of four-year universities in the Santa Clarita Valley, officials at College of the Canyons sought to give residents more access to higher education when they launched the Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook University Center in 2002. The center’s enrollees can earn advanced degrees from partner colleges and universities based throughout the state. With construction on the 110,000-square-foot center scheduled for completion this spring, students enrolled in University Center programs in 2009 will be the first to take advantage of the permanent center’s new classrooms and facilities. Previous students took classes in an interim facility. Once the center is completed, it is expected to house up to 10 partner institutions and offer more than 50 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees and credential programs. “What they’ve done is provide an avenue for people to continue earning their education. I’ve picked them as being the business model for the future of community colleges,” said Debi Hrboka, associate director of admissions for the University of La Verne’s San Fernando Valley campus. ULV is one of a handful of COC’s partner institutions. Hrboka oversees admissions to ULV at COC as well. COC’s other partner institutions include Chapman University, National University and California State Universities, Bakersfield and Northridge. University of California, Los Angeles, also provides extension classes at the center. Partner institutions make the same programs they offer on their home campuses available at the University Center, allowing COC students to earn higher degrees. Programs are available in a variety of subjects, including business, education and social sciences. “What makes it unique is the diversity of programs that are available,” said Barry Gribbons, COC’s assistant superintendent and vice president of institutional development, technology and online services. “In the fall, we’re also adding nursing, and we’ll be adding computer information sciences and legal studies soon. We’re also going to be adding engineering and a mathematics program. We’ll have the capacity to progressively increase the programs that are offered.” Each university is in charge of the programs they provide at the center. Students apply to the university in question and enroll in its programs just as they would if they were traveling to the universities from the Santa Clarita Valley. Removing barriers Since 2002, more than 1,100 students have graduated from the university center. Gribbons is not just excited about the number of students to complete a degree program at the center but by the fact that 90 percent of students surveyed say that the center has removed barriers that otherwise would have prevented them from pursuing a higher degree. “We wanted to increase access to advanced degrees and training for the folks in Santa Clarita,” Gribbons said. To find partner institutions, Gribbons said that COC officials simply contacted universities in the area. In particular, they pursued universities who had experience offering degree programs off-site. However, the school also contacted universities which had never been involved in such an undertaking. University of La Verne has been a University Center partner since 2002, and Hrboka believes that ULV suits COC well. “We have lots of experience with adult education and helping finish degree programs,” she said. “La Verne is a very well-established school. We’ve been around 117 years. We were one of the first to offer the accelerated degree program designed for the working adults. That’s very visionary on our part, so I just feel like we’re a good match for that school.” At present, COC’s University Center has a handful of partner institutions. The economic downturn may make it difficult for the center to form additional partnerships with area universities, though. “It does have some impact,” Gribbons said of the downturn. “Some CSUs are reluctant to move forward with new programs, given the state budget cuts, but that’s not true of all CSUs. For example, Cal State L.A. is very interested in moving forward with the partnership.” As they should be, Hrboka believes. Her philosophy on the center is modeled after a tweaking of the old adage, “If Muhammad doesn’t go to mountain, you bring the mountain to Muhammad,” she said.

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