Spring to Success at BCC - Still Free, No Fees!

Berkeley City College announced its Spring to Success program, enhancing the successful Fall is Free program by adding more benefits for BCC students. You can learn more at our website: www.berkeleycitycollege.edu/free.

Dear Peralta Community,

Per our policy to follow Alameda County Public Health Department guidelines, and based on discussions with union leaders, it is agreed that in January 2023 masks will become optional on Peralta Community College District (PCCD) property and will no longer be required. People may choose to mask at any time.

Hello Peralta Colleagues,

I don't know about you, but I am very much looking forward to the Thanksgiving break on November 24-25, 2022. Working at Peralta Community College District can often feel like stepping on a treadmill that’s already going 10 miles per hour. There’s always so much going on. We all need this break to recharge and reflect.

Berkeley City College’s “BCC in the Community” shares stories about students and meets them where they are. President Garcia visited BCC student Sofia Laguna Milian at her internship at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Milian previously interned with Bayer while she was a Berkeley High School student, graduating in 2021.

The first-ever Peralta Charrette was a huge success. We really appreciate the approximately 200 community members who participated for taking the time to register, attend, and share their thoughts and concerns as the Peralta Community College District (PCCD) works on our five-year strategic plan and the Peralta Colleges – Berkeley City College, College of Alameda, Laney College, and Merritt College – work on their educational master plans.

OAKLAND, Calif., November 16, 2022 – Course registration fees are being waived for the Spring 2023 semester at all four of the colleges within the Peralta Community College District (PCCD) in the East Bay: Berkeley City College, College of Alameda, Laney College, and Merritt College. The fee waiver is available to all California residents – documented and undocumented – who complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). There is no minimum course credit requirement.

Peralta Hosts First-Ever Charrette Community Forum

The Peralta Community College District (PCCD) held its first-ever Peralta Charette at Laney College on Thursday, November 10. The Charrette was a community forum where PCCD and the four colleges: Berkeley City College, College of Alameda, Laney College, and Merritt College, solicited input from students, faculty, classified professionals, and community partners in helping to shape PCCD’s strategic master plan and the colleges’ educational master plans for the next five years.

Berkeley City College’s ESOL Department Co-Chair Gabriel Winer was recently recognized for their work in implementing AB 705 to serve our ESOL students in an article published by the California Acceleration Project. The article focused on Winer’s success in creating a transfer-level English class using Socratic seminars to help students learn and practice the rhetorical moves, language, and norms of academic discussions. The class prepares students with practicing speaking and presenting in class with techniques that demystify class discussion language patterns and framing sentences to help structure and word their thoughts. “I am so grateful to work at BCC and to have the opportunity to participate in this work,” said Winer.

Berkeley City College’s “BCC in the Community” is about meeting students where they are. We visited student Carla Appleberry at her dance studio, Creations Berkeley. Appleberry is a Berkeley native and returning student to BCC who was inspired to enroll in BCC’s Multimedia Arts program to support her 8-year-old daughter in creating professional social media videos and promoting her business. “I took the class and I really figured it out. Love my classmates, love the program, and now I want to get the AA in multimedia and transfer to Berkeley for my master's,” said Appleberry. “I’m here to fulfill my dreams and move forward and bring the community along with me.” Appleberry is expecting to graduate from BCC in Fall 2023 or Spring 2024.