Sierra College Keeps Slimmed-Down Ag, Auto and Construction Programs

I “tweeted” it last night, but that was the news out of the Sierra College board meeting. The agriculture, auto tech and construction tech programs will remain this fall, at a cost of about half a million dollars which, depending on the state budget, will likely come out of reserves.

The college established a program vitality committee, which will have eight months to develop a workable plan for these three programs.

The Board committed several years ago to being a community college not about quantity of students, quantity of degrees, or quantity of programs, but to be a community college focused on quality, exemplifying excellence in education and ensuring student success. A quote that I like to steal from our President sums it up: “access without success is a cruel hoax.”

So for these three programs to survive long term, they have to figure out how to reshape, realign and refocus to thrive in the midst of the resource constraints we have. The program vitality committee is going to take a hard, honest look at that and there will be a variety of opportunities for members of the community to contribute as well.

So these programs are definitely not out of the woods yet, but at least we have a pathway to a logical decision at the end of eight months. I am optimistic that each program will find a way to thrive, even in the midst of California’s budget hurricane.

Here’s an excerpt of the coverage from the Auburn Journal:

The Sierra College board approved limited continuation of vocational automotive, agriculture and construction programs Tuesday but are due to revisit their status in November. …

Instead of ending the longtime vocational programs in the face of a potential $10.7 million funding shortfall next year, school officials are continuing stripped-down versions and embarking on a collaborative process to determine whether they should stay or go in the future. …

Rachel Rosenthal, vice president of instruction, outlined plans at Tuesday’s meeting that would see fulltime vocational faculty retained but classes drastically cut back. Agriculture, for instance, will have 40 percent fewer course offerings while dropping animal science and equine studies.

Excited to see this outcome, and hoping I get to cast a positive vote in eight months.