Clovis Community Center granted full college status

Clovis Community College Center has been granted initial accreditation to expand to full college status, resulting in more state funding to accommodate more students.

The accrediting committee for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges on Wednesday approved the center’s request to become a college, after a six-year process of analyzing the school’s capability to expand.

The accreditation is pending the center’s response to a few recommendations by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges to tweak its handling of financial resources and leadership processes. The report says that despite the small number of recommendations, “overall the center is ready to take on the responsibility of a college.”

The campus, which opened in August 2007 and was formerly known as Willow International Center, is part of the State Center Community College District. The school joins Fresno City College and Reedley College in community college status, while the Madera and Oakhurst sites currently remain centers.

State Center officials plan for Madera Center to become the next campus to reach full college status, but that process has not started yet, according to district spokeswoman Lucy Ruiz.

Over the last couple of years at the Clovis site, “we’ve had a lot more demand in that area, and we’ve been trying to grow it,” Ruiz said.

The school, now known as Clovis Community College, is located in northeast Fresno and has a current enrollment of about 6,200 students. The accreditation allows the school to function independently from Reedley College and receive $1.3 million more yearly in state funding than it does currently.

Officials expect to see significant growth in programs, facilities and enrollment and are already looking to hire more faculty members.

“As a stand-alone college, we can now develop and implement programs and courses that are tailored to meet the needs of local business and industry more quickly,” Deborah Ikeda, president of Clovis Community College, said Wednesday.

Ruiz said the board will meet in September to fine-tune details for the expansion.

The school also plans to offer a sports program, introducing a swimming and diving team as its first official sport, Ikeda said.

Clovis Community College still has room for students to enroll for the upcoming semester, with the first day of classes starting Aug. 17. Registration is July 30 and 31 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Aug. 1 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The school will have an official launch event to proclaim its new college status on the campus on Aug. 20 at 10 a.m.

This story was originally published July 1, 2015 at 11:48 AM with the headline "Clovis Community Center granted full college status."