Enrollment Recap: Who’s at Berkeley City College?

The Fall 2022 semester is underway at Berkeley City College! There’s a definitive buzz around campus as the college hosts our welcome events, registration workshops, and an increased in-person campus. BCC’s outreach efforts including recruitment efforts at local high schools, marketing and news coverage of the “Fall is Free at BCC” campaign have brought a lot of new faces and returning students back to campus.

 We thank all of the administrators and staff in the Student Services, Public Information, Financial Aid, and Counseling offices for their tireless devotion to supporting students with enrollment and registration. This semester's class is diverse in ethnicity, age, and educational goals.

Here’s a snapshot of the student population as of September 6: there are 5,814 students at Berkeley City College, which makes up our Full-time equivalent students (FTES) of 1,230. For reference, our FTES last fall at this time was 1,239. The data sets included in this article break down the demographics of BCC students.

Enrollment Workshops Guide Berkeley City College Students

Berkeley City College has hosted dozens of enrollment workshops throughout August and into September. The workshops are held in the morning and afternoon, Monday through Thursday on campus and on Zoom, and are administered by the Dean of Student Support Services Brenda Johnson, Dean of Student Success Martin de Mucha Flores, and outreach specialists Gail Pendleton and HSI Outreach Program Specialist Christine Trowbridge. It’s a one-stop shop where students can access support in applying for school, financial aid, information on learning communities and special programs, and technical support. Early data shows conversion rate from Express Registrations is up 61% from 57% last semester, with data from BCC’s Enrollment Workshops still outstanding. Thanks to all for contributing to supporting students’ access and success at BCC!

BCC Student Ambassador: Champions for Student Enrollment

Fall 2022 enrollment at Berkeley City College has been off to a great start with the “Fall is Free at BCC” campaign and the ongoing outreach efforts from our classified staff, administration, and partnerships with local schools. But the frontline of enrollment support is aided by the incredible team of student ambassadors working at the Welcome Desk on the first floor of the campus. Sarah Latino and Noel Arikew are two members of the Student Ambassador team.

They estimate the student ambassadors support over 100 people per day via email, phone calls, and in-person support during the peak enrollment season in August. “I have a sense of relief helping solve people’s problems,” said Arikew. “We try and fix it for them, and they come away with the desired outcome, then everyone’s happy.” They are often the first point of contact for new and returning students looking to enroll at BCC, and ensure prospective students’ communications are directed to the correct staff to support them. “If I were in their (student’s) shoes, I would want the same amount of help and energy we’re giving them,” said Latino.

Berkeley City College thanks the Student Ambassadors and Campus Life Director John Nguyen for all their support in enrollment efforts for the Fall semester!

Fall is Free at BCC!

You may have seen the billboards, social media advertising, and coverage by our local media partners on TV, radio, and print. It’s true – Fall is Free at BCC! The campaign aimed at supporting student access and success to higher education for the Fall 2022 semester.

To qualify, students must enroll in at least 3 units and complete a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid, California Dream Act, or California Promise Grant. The financial aid application must be filed with Berkeley City College designated as the student’s home college. Students will receive funds after the FAFSA is completed, but students do not need to qualify for financial aid to receive Fall is Free at BCC benefits.

The program includes first-time college students, currently enrolled students, returning students, English language learners, recreational learners, career education students, and dual enrolled high school students. Out-of-state and international students are not eligible for this program. Eligible students who already paid their fees for the Fall ’22 semester will be reimbursed.

“We recognize students in our community are making important decisions to provide for themselves and their families amid a pandemic, rising housing costs, and inflation. Berkeley City College is pleased to offer access to higher education to all by removing financial barriers for BCC students,” said Berkeley City College President Angélica Garcia. “This is an opportunity for students to enroll in as many classes as they can at no cost, jumpstarting their educational pathway to completion, certification, or transfer.”

Talk Before You Drop!

Berkeley City College provides support for students who are thinking of dropping classes. In late August, Berkeley City College launched the Talk Before You Drop! campaign to encourage students to open a dialogue with our support staff to help with maintaining their current schedule, remind them of the benefits of having a course load that enables them to complete their goals on time, and remind them of how dropping courses can impact their financial aid resources. Students can email stayatbcc@peralta.edu to get a person on the other line to triage them to the appropriate resources to help.

Welcoming BCC Students to the Fall Semester

Welcome Week was a success as students returned to in-person classes! Fun and engaging welcome events were held Monday through Thursday during the week of August 22. The week kicked off on Monday with pastries and coffee for students, followed by refreshing boa on Tuesday, and then delicious pizza on Wednesday during the Campus Resource Fair, and ended with tasty burritos and agua frescas on Thursday!

On Thursday, September 1, the Society of Scholars team hosted a resource event. Over 80 scholars from across Puente, Umoja, Ignite, and API Lead attended and started building warm connections with our amazing teams from EOPS, the UCRC, SAS, Financial Aid, the LRC, and our BCC Library. Following today’s event, quite a few scholars came by my office to start filling out EOPS and SAS applications too! It was a huge and immediate impact on our students! We thank Adriana Regalado, Skyler Barton, and Shannon Penn for organizing the event, Patricia Mendoza, Luis Chavez, John Saenz, Alejandra Oseguera, Ramona Butler, Rhonda Johnson, Suzanne Allison, and Elissa Jaw for their informative presentations, and the student panel of Shelsea Reyes, Jaime Mendoza, Crystal Swan, and Ashley Santos for sharing their experiences!

The event was followed by a Bienvenida de BCC organized by Outreach Coordinator Christine Trowbridge. President Angélica Garcia kicked off the event with opening welcome remarks, followed by a panel discussion introducing and encouraging students to campus resources. The panel was moderated by BCC Scholar Sonjia Garcia, and led by BCC Scholar Shelsea Reyes, Counselors Dri Regalado and Luis Chavez, Interim Financial Aid Director Patricia Mendoza, and EOPS counselor Alejandra Oseguera. Associate Dean of Student Success Dr. Martin de Mucha Flores ended the event with closing remarks and welcomed students to a catered lunch.

The Berkeley City College Veterans Resource Center Orientation was held on August 30, 2022, available both in-person and online. The orientation provided veterans, military service members, and dependents with information on the many student support and services on campus. In addition to learning about the different services, students were able to meet professionals in each area, which would promote confidence when requesting said service. Students were also provided with information about the multitude of resources available to them at the Veterans Resource Center. The event was a success after a 2-year hiatus of not being offered. We thank Jeejun Bertuso for his work in organizing the event, and all of the speakers involved in representing campus resources.

BCC Students Awarded Behavioral Health Scholarships

Berkeley City College students Starlissah Stewart and Tyler Bennett were recently awarded the first round of the Alameda County Behavioral Health Career Pipeline Scholarship and Mentorship Program. The award, which could reach $10,000, will support their tuition at their transfer universities.

Stewart transferred to Cal State East Bay and started classes in the Fall, where she is majoring in Ethnic Studies and minoring in Mental Health. Stewart comes from a long line of health workers serving in Oakland, her mother and grandmother both worked in the health field. “I am very honored by receiving this award,” said Stewart “I appreciate all the guidance that I received from Miss Janine Greer, who is the mental health specialist over at BCC. I took a bunch of health courses with Melina Winterton, who gave the best guidance ever.”

Bennett transferred to UC Berkeley where he is majoring in Public Health and minoring in Data Science. He applied for the scholarship due to financial need and an opportunity to network and receive mentorship for his future career in public health and grad school. “I’m really excited to receive this scholarship because it will alleviate the financial burden of living in the bay area and I will be able to focus more on my studies! I also can’t help but thank Melina Winterton and Janine Greer from BCC, and Dr. Sang Trieu from Ohlone College for their mentorship, advice, and support in my education process so far.”

Congratulations Starlissah and Tyler!!

Leading for Equity Grant Awarded to Berkeley City College Teacher Prep Program

The Berkeley Public Schools Fund awarded a LEADING for Equity Grant of $25,00 for “Grow our Own: Berkeley Teacher of Color Preparation Pipeline.” The project was designed and will be jointly led by a partnership between the Berkeley Unified School District, Berkeley City College, and the City of Berkeley. Education program coordinator Dr. Joya Chavarin is a chief collaborator on this project to develop a framework for adapting and extending the reach of BCC’s Teacher Preparation Program to BUSD students and classified staff.

“This grant-funded program addresses the dire shortage of educators (particularly teachers of color) in preschool through high school classrooms. The “Grow Your Own” program will expand and diversify the BUSD teacher of color workforce. This is important as students thrive when they see themselves reflected in their teachers, which will reverse the trend in the achievement and opportunity gaps impacting students throughout their education.”

The other chief collaborators are Wyn Skeels, Program Supervisor, Career Technical Education (BUSD), and Nina Goldman, 2020 Vision Manager for the City of Berkeley. The funds will be used to hire a consultant to facilitate the design of a framework for a new Teacher of Color Pipeline for BUSD students and classified staff. The project will form the basis of a career pathway for students and staff interested in exploring and/or pursuing careers in education and help expand and diversify the future educator workforce amidst a severe teacher shortage. BUSD students and classified staff of color will serve as advisors during the planning process. Once launched (starting in 2023/24), the audience for this project specifically will be BHS/BTA juniors and seniors and BUSD classified staff who do not have an associate degree.

Berkeley City College thanks Dr. Chavaran for initiating this exciting project, and Dean Lisa Cook for their support.

BCC 2118 Milvia Campus Extension Townhall

On Tuesday, August 30th, Berkeley City College held a town hall meeting updating the community about the progress of the 2118 Milvia Campus extension. The meeting was hosted by Vice President of Administrative Services Sean Brooks and construction consultants Excel Construction Services, Ratcliff Construction, and Kitchell Corporation. The presentation included a schedule of construction and completion, with a projected move-in date in late 2024. Construction consultants displayed exterior renderings and floor plans. They also opened the floor to questions and comments, allowing administrators, faculty, classified staff, and students in attendance to provide feedback on the building name, marquee colors, spaces for art and décor, and safety concerns.

Target dates for demolition and construction remain in November/December of this year. Berkeley City College is excited by the speed at which this project has moved through the design phase and the transparency we’ve shown to the campus community and the city at large. We look forward to expanding our footprint in Berkeley and growing our operations to better suit the needs of the community we serve.

Fall Flex Day at BCC!

Friday, August 19, Berkeley City College held its Flex Day to ring in the Fall 2022 Semester. The day opened with an opportunity for colleagues to update the community about the trips and projects they undertook over the summer break, and share their intentions and goals for the new academic year. The Berkeley City College administration then provided updates of policies and procedures for Fall 2022, with presentations from President Angélica Garcia, Vice President of the Office of Instruction Kuni Hay, Vice President of Student Services Stacey Shears, and Vice President of Administrative Services Sean Brooks.

The theme of Flex Day was “Centering Mental Health: Supporting Our Community, Interrogating Inequities, and Addressing Burnout.” It opened with a reflection exercise with Wellness Coordinator Janine Greer. Colleagues reflected on the best day of their life and broke into break-out rooms to discuss these moments with each other and provide words of affirmation. They then shared their experiences in the broader group.

The program moved on to the main presentation given by guest speaker Maiana Minahal, English and Writing instructor at Kapi’olani Community College in Hawaii. The presentation was titled “Moving From Burnout and Emotional Overwork to Resilience in a Compassion-Centered Workplace.” Minahal shared her experiences with burnout over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, illustrating the causes and methods she used to get herself back to mental and physical wellness. It then led to brainstorming for all institutional roles towards the goal of building collective resilience in a compassion-centered workplace.

Recruiting New BCC Faculty for Tenure Track Positions

Berkeley City College is excited to announce we are recruiting candidates to fill five new tenured track positions. The search is focused on faculty in Counseling, Education, Communications, Psychology, and Multimedia Art. Berkeley City College is growing out of the pandemic and working toward providing more opportunities for our students to learn. The recruitment drive is aided by BCC Academic Senate President Matthew Freeman, Social Sciences Department Chair Tim Rose, and Dean of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Lisa Cook.

“The Academic Senate is excited that BCC is working to hire 5 Full-Time Tenure Track Faculty,” said Freeman. “Our students will greatly benefit from having more full-time faculty at BCC to support them along their journey. I am personally very thankful to all that has been done to help prioritize these positions and to everyone who has agreed to serve on these hiring committees.”

“New faculty always inspire and invigorate. It comes as a virtual sigh of relief, then, to witness our college and community rebounding with such strength and energy,” said Rose. “What a terrific moment, as instructors and students alike collectively take on new challenges and once again begin to more commonly experience traditional joys we find in sharing the educational space, to add the vitality and skill of new full-time teachers to the BCC faculty ranks.”

“These are times of great challenge and opportunity for Berkeley City College as we return to campus and build programs for the future,” said Cook. “I look forward to joining faculty from three exceptional departments in the selection of tenure track instructors who will provide excellent instruction and join us in our work to advance Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.”

Berkeley City College looks forward to seeing the evolution of our college through the hiring process, and look forward to adding more members to our great team.

Upcoming Events at BCC!

API Lead Club Presents:

Mid Autumn Festival

Sept. 12 – 16^th, 12:15 – 1:15 p.m.

We will be passing out Mooncakes on the 1^st Floor!

bccapileadclub@gmail.com

Fall 2022 Club Rush:

Wednesday, September 21^st, 12:20 – 1:20 p.m. at the BCC Atrium

Enjoy pizza from Sliver and meet the clubs of BCC!

If you’re interested in starting a club, book a table to meet students and potential members!

Contact:  BCC-campuslife@peralta.edu

This article is taken from the President’s Report, written by Dr. Angélica Garcia, Berkeley City College President, that was presented to the PCCD Board of Trustees during their regular meeting on Tuesday, September 13, 2022. To view it as a pdf, click here.