The first student media teleconference of the semester was held Sept. 21 and hosted by the newly appointed Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, Dr. Sonya Christian, who is the district’s first female permanent Chancellor. In the teleconference, Christian introduced an action plan to bring college resources to those who need them and allowed time for student questions. These questions ranged from a variety of issues and challenges, but they all seemed to stem from the message of equity.
At the beginning of the meeting, Christian introduced “Vision 2030” as a roadmap to opening up equity on campus. It was further categorized into three goals: equity in success, equity in access and equity in support. She stressed the fact that this roadmap is meant to increase enrollment and success rates, as well as make sure students have access to resources available.
After addressing how community colleges offer more baccalaureate programs and talking about AI’s future in education, the attention shifted to student questions surrounding important topics. Such as the issue of tuition hikes at California State Universities, and Christian took the time to address each issue.
“We are starting to brainstorm ideas by which we can support our transfer students as they transition from the community colleges to the CSUs,” said Christian.
Topics went deeper into college budgets and what the future looks like for those colleges and the Chancellor announced that California community colleges are growing in great numbers.
“We are growing. We’re in growth mode, and that is going to be extremely helpful for colleges which are seeing a significant decline,” said Christian.
She states that along with increased enrollment, plans to double down on increased Free Applications for Federal Student Aid numbers among other grants. These increased numbers should be able to help colleges that are suffering from budget deficits. But even in the event that it doesn’t, Christian states that there are contingencies just in case.
“I’m optimistic that everyone’s going to do well. But, in the event that they don’t, then we will have customized solutions that we will move forward with the colleges jointly with the Chancellor’s office,” said Christian.
Issues arise with transferring to four-year universities to sort through applications for bachelor’s degrees, Christian acknowledged these issues and cited solutions they are working on through legislation and tech. Christian also touched on the relationship between AI and education, stressing the importance of being proactive when AI is involved. Topics surrounding climate change came up as well and Christian described changes in curriculum to better encompass a healthy climate.
The teleconference ended with a question regarding the promotion of Black and Brown students to get bachelor’s degrees and subsequent jobs, and Christian tied it all back into equity. While citing an economic mobility strategy that is being worked on, Christian stressed how the entire goal of Vision 2030 is to promote equity for all, providing resources and support to every student who needs it.
The next teleconference is scheduled to take place Nov. 7th and will be hosted by Chancellor Christian.
