As of January 13, 2021, Berkeley City College is at 75.51% of the Resident FTES target. With multiple Express Registration sessions managed by Student Services as well as communications going out to students, the enrollment number is going up on a daily basis.

Five BCC students received the Artists Resisting Sugar city-wide art contest sponsored by the City of Berkeley and the BCC Public Health Club. Their art will be on display in Berkeley at Lifelong. In December the winning students were awarded prize money. The City of Berkeley has commended the art as outstanding pieces.

The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) is visiting (virtually) the Peralta Community College District on December 16 and 17 to follow up on our Colleges’ accreditation submittals, specifically the Special Reports submitted on November 1, 2020.   

While the Colleges remain fully accredited during a probationary period announced by ACCJC in January 2020, we are pleased to report that the District and Colleges are making progress on removing that probationary status.   
 
As you may recall, the probationary status was not about academics or education, but solely about finances and organizational matters.  

The ACCJC required the Colleges to provide additional evidence of financial improvement. That is exactly what College of Alameda, Berkeley City, Laney and Merritt Colleges have done, and we believe the reported results are excellent.   
 
We are confident the colleges have addressed the ACCJC concerns and have demonstrated each campus meets the requirements to be removed from probationary status.  
 
Each of the four Colleges reported growing enrollments and services to students through online winter and spring intersession offerings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, the campuses successfully conducted marketing and outreach campaigns to potential students seeking online instruction in California State University and University of California-transferable courses.   
 
All of the four Colleges noted increases in their individual “Dual Enrollment Programs,” which offers high school students an early start on their career technical education and opportunities to earn units toward their college degree.
 
The Colleges partner with high schools in Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda to promote educational equity by offering empowering, transformative educational experiences to local high school students.  
 
By increasing the Colleges’ offerings to high schools these new enrollments hopefully mean these students will have already begun their college experience by the time they graduate high school, giving them both a head start in college as well as saving them money.  

The Peralta Community College District is pleased to announce that Berkeley City College, Laney College, and Merritt College are being recognized for their exemplary educational work in implementing the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) programs by the Campaign for College Opportunity.  

All four of the Peralta Colleges are fully accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) and remain so during a probationary period that began in January 2020.  We are pleased to report that the colleges of Peralta Community College District are making progress on removing their probationary status.   

The last day to vote in the upcoming election is Tuesday, November 3, and there are a variety of options to make sure your voices are heard!

Berkeley City College just announced that it has selected student Yanelit Madriz Zarate as this year's awardee of a $750 California Community College EOPS Association (CCCEOPSA) scholarship. A first generation Chicana student who is the daughter of Mexican immigrants, Zarate was selected as this year's recipient due to her outstanding commitment not only to her studies, but to her community.

How do you offer mental health support and therapy during a pandemic? You have to pivot!

While traditional ways of doing therapy have shifted, the Berkeley City College Wellness Center is offering mental health services to students via Zoom. BCC is fortunate to have a four mental health providers, three trainees, and a licensed supervisor, a team that is committed to being in service to our most vulnerable students. 

Over 100 BCC faculty, staff, and administrators came together for a day of professional learning centered around “Building Community and Advancing Equity and Racial Justice.” The event took place on August 21, 2020 and began with community-building activities first thing in the morning, followed by a greeting from the shared governance leads. Lasana Hotep, anti-racist educator and Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at the University of California, Berkeley, delivered a rousing and informative keynote presentation on the subject, “Antiracism is a Marathon, Not a Sprint: Core Competencies for Equity Advancing Educators.”

Back on the afternoon of August 18th, 2020, the Berkeley City College Society of Scholars (SoS) team welcomed over 100 in-coming students, through an engaging and entertaining Virtual Orientation. The SoS Orientation was designed and led by the BCC SoS Student Staff team, and supported by SoS Counselors and campus Administrators. The Virtual Orientation included a warm, enthusiastic and thoughtful “Welcome” by BCC President, Dr. Angelica Garcia, followed by inspirational words from Vice President of Student Services, Dr. Stacey Shears, and a positive and upbeat message from Associate Dean of Educational Success, Martin de Mucha Flores.