COLLEGE OF THE CANYONS : Center to Aid Student Transfers

College of the Canyons in the Santa Clarita Valley is developing a transfer center on campus designed to make the switch to a four-year university or college easier for students.

A committee is preparing a budget, searching for a location and determining who will be in charge of the center, which is to be completed by the end of June.

“From what I understand, the primary focus is to help minority students,” said committee member Maggie Wozniak. “It is supposed to have counselors on hand directing you on what to do and how to do it.

“I don’t know the percentage of minority students transferring, but personally it would make it easier for me,” she said of the center.

The facility also will strive to increase the number of students who transfer to four-year institutions, campus administrators said. It will provide transfer materials, hold workshops, scheduled tours and work closely with four-year colleges and universities.

After it is established, the center may merge with the college’s High Intensity Transfer Enrichment honors program already in place with UCLA and USC, campus officials said.

The state Legislature appropriated funding to establish transfer programs at two-year colleges statewide after a successful pilot project at 20 schools.

The College of the Canyons has been awarded $57,700, said Bud Shearer, chairman of the college transfer committee.

“We need to improve transferring statewide,” said Kathleen D. Nelson, transfer center project coordinator for the state community colleges chancellors’ office. “One of the ways to do it is to provide support to establish the centers.”