San Diego Community College District

The latest issue of With Excellence (WE) shows how students and programs are enduring while classes remain remote during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During remote learning, students require more support with technology, tutoring, and counseling while they navigate the challenges of learning away from the classroom. The San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) community has extended a helping hand with laptop loans, food distribution events, and virtual events. Here are some of those stories of keeping the campus communities connected — while safely staying apart — that can be found in the Winter 2021 edition of WE Magazine:

Chancellor's Message:  San Diego Community College District Chancellor Constance M. Carroll addresses the continued issue of systemic racism throughout the United States and reaffirm's the District's commitment to social justice. Dr. Carroll believes the answer is to ensure accessible and affordable higher education to all.

A Beacon of Hope: SDCCD students tell inspiring stories of how they overcame adversity to move to the United States, acquire their educations, and build a new future for themselves and their families. 

Leaving the Past Behind: Formerly incarcerated students describe how they found a new path through education. More than 65% of those released from California’s prison system return within three years because they lack the high school or college education that can lift them into a more sustainable socioeconomic situation. Studies show the costs of education are much less than the costs of incarceration.

Honor Roll: The Honor's Program at the SDCCD continues to grow and support students from traditional underserved communities. Honors students are outperforming their non-Honors peers in a number of academic areas, including cumulative GPA, retention rates, and success rates.

CONNECT ALL at the Jacobs Center is a program focused on supporting startups and entrepreneurs in diverse, low- and moderate-income communities. Its Business Accelerator offers mentoring, weekly workshops, a community of fellow entrepreneurs, and assistance in learning about different types of capital.

Onward and Upward addresses the steady rise of SDCCD graduates going on to 4-year institutions. Two-thirds of our transfers going to a University of California or California State University campus.

Preserving a Moment: San Diego Mesa College student Sora Gallagher has been working on an art project, during her internship, to preserve protest art created during the Black Lives Matter movement immediately after the May 25, 2020 slaying of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

Also in Winter 2021 WE Magazine:
A Vision for Miramar College
Coping with the pandemic
Record enrollment in the San Diego Promise
The SDCCD's $4.1 billion impact on the region's economy

Read the latest issue of WE Magazine