ELAC Honored as a Champion of Higher Education: Leading the Way in ADT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kevin Jimenez, College Public Relations Manager

(323) 265-8807 | @email

ELAC Honored as a Champion of Higher Education: Leading the Way in ADT

MONTEREY PARK, CA – East Los Angeles College (ELAC) has been named a 2023 Champion of Higher Education by the Campaign for College Opportunity. Recognizing the campus’ exemplary work in implementing the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT).

ELAC is one of only 18 California community colleges to be selected as a Champion of Higher Education and one of only three community colleges to earn the honor for excellence in ADT. 1,306 total Associate Degrees for Transfer were awarded to ELAC students in the 2021–22 academic year.

“East Los Angeles College continues to be a leader in ADTs because we recognize the importance of having our students fulfill transfer requirements and earn their bachelor's degree much quicker once transferred to a CSU. Thank you to our Husky faculty and staff for making this great accomplishment a reality for our college,” said ELAC President Alberto J. Román.

The Associate Degree for Transfer is an instrumental pathway that has streamlined the transfer process for over a decade. Though community college is often thought of as a two-year stepping stone to a university, the lived  experience of students indicates otherwise: many are caught in a confusing maze, navigating varied course requirements and inconsistent guidance to achieve their transfer goals.

In response, the Campaign for College Opportunity championed SB 1440 (Padilla) in 2010, creating the ADT pathway. Today, the ADT has impacted the lives of nearly 490,000 students by supporting them on a faster road to transfer with guaranteed admission to the CSU system, saving students valuable time and money. And, though new research indicates that California still must make progress to support transfer students, the ADT has shown promising results: students who successfully transfer show greater use of the ADT, and more Latinx and Black students are choosing the ADT as their preferred transfer pathway.

“For nearly a decade, the ADT has given community college students struggling to navigate a complicated transfer maze a clear path to success with a degree to show for their hard work. As colleges grapple with pandemic-induced enrollment declines, we laud the 27-community college and CSU campuses that continue to forge ahead for students by strengthening the transfer pathway and removing unacceptable equity barriers in transfer for Latinx, Black, and first- generation college students across the state,” said Jessie Ryan, executive vice president of the Campaign for College Opportunity and former community college transfer student.

The following colleges and universities are honored as the 2023 Champions of Higher Education for Excellence in Transfer for working with intentionality to support students through the implementation of the ADT across various metrics. Learn more

• Bakersfield College
• East Los Angeles College
• Mt. San Antonio College
• Mission College
• San Joaquin Delta College
• Madera College
• Evergreen Valley College
• Berkeley City College
• Citrus College
• Clovis Community College
• Grossmont College
• Moorpark College
• California State University, Fullerton
• California State University, Long Beach
• California State University, Los Angeles
• Sacramento State University
• Stanislaus State University