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Canyon Country Campus The College of the Canyons Canyon Country campus is an exciting addition to the eastern portion of the Santa Clarita Valley, but especially for Canyon Country. Great change has already occurred and more is on the way in the coming months and years. This will undoubtedly generate local interest in, and questions about, the project by community members. This page is designed to answer some of those questions and to keep the community informed about changes. As the project progresses, we’ll revise this information to reflect the most recent developments. Where is the Canyon Country Campus property located? How large is the piece of property the college purchased? Why does College of the Canyons need to build an educational center in Canyon Country? Where did the money for the purchase of this land come from? What impact will the passage of Measure M have on the completion of the Canyon Country campus? What is the current status of construction? How many classrooms will be available at the opening in fall 2007? How many permanent buildings will be constructed on the site and how big will they be? When will the first permanent building begin construction? How many students will the site accommodate? Is the Canyon Country Campus a vocational campus? What academic programs will be offered at the campus? Will the programming at CCC duplicate that of the Valencia campus? Is Canyon Country going to have any unique majors or programs? Will any arts programs be held at CCC? What will the hours of operation be at the new site? Can high school students attend the new campus? Will there be athletic teams/facilities? How will the property be landscaped? How will the campus be staffed? Will I be missing anything academically by attending classes in Canyon Country and not in Valencia? How much parking will there be? Will I have to pay for parking? Will the campus have bike lanes? Will the historic “Honey House,” that was purchased as part of the 70-acre tract be torn down? What impact will the new campus have on traffic along Sierra Highway? Will the buildings be available for community uses as they are on the Valencia campus? Will the facilities be made available for additional uses? Why should businesses support the Canyon Country site? Where is the Canyon Country Campus property located? The new site is located on the southeast side of Sierra Highway approximately 1.7 miles northeast of the intersection of Sierra Highway and Soledad Canyon Road. The address is:
How large is the piece of property the college purchased? The college purchased a 70-acre site. Why does College of the Canyons need to build an educational center in Canyon Country? Thirty-two percent of the nearly 19,000 students currently attending COC reside in zip codes in and around Canyon Country. The Southern California Association of Governments estimates that nearly 68,000 people will be living in Canyon Country by 2010, an increase of 32 percent over 10 years. The number of students who will seek college classes in that vicinity will grow dramatically. At the same time, significant growth is predicted throughout the entire Santa Clarita Valley resulting in the College of the Canyons campus in Valencia reaching capacity as student population reaches the 20- to 25,000 level. The cost of the Canyon Country site was $13,494,000. Where did the money for the purchase of this land come from? Voters passed an $82.1 million general obligation bond (Measure C) in November 2001, which provided the funds for purchase of the site. What impact will the passage of Measure M have on the completion of the Canyon Country campus? Measure M, which was passed by voters in November 2006, will provide $160 million for construction at Santa Clarita Community College District campuses – one of which is the Canyon Country campus. These funds will also allow the District to leverage significant, additional funds from the State in order to complete the permanent buildings on the new campus. What is the current status of construction?
Slope stabilization in the form of slope hydro-seeding took
place in early January, our building plans were approved by
the Department of the State Architect (DSA) in January and
once the concrete pads are complete the modulars will be
moved onto the site. Work on underground utilities is
nearing completion. How many classrooms will be available at the opening in fall 2007? Current plans call for 23 classrooms and 5 lab spaces arranged in groupings over 5 quad areas of the campus. Additional space will also accommodate student services, food service and many additional functions. How many permanent buildings will be constructed on the site and how big will they be? The college plans to build six, two story buildings on the site, totaling nearly 240,000 square feet. The Valencia campus currently has 560,000 square feet of space. These buildings will each be 40,000 square feet and be used for: • Health Occupations/Technology • Arts and Humanities • Applied Technology Center • Engineering/Math/Science • Social Science/Humanities • Library/Media Tech/Student Services/Admin/Tutorial When will the first permanent building begin construction? The first permanent building will be in the working drawing stage in 2007/2008 and in under construction during 2008/2009. It will be a 40,000-square-foot building. The second and third buildings will be at intervals of two years after that. How many students will the site accommodate? Classes will begin in fall 2007 with accommodations for 3,000 students. The permanent facility will accommodate 7,000 to 10,000 students at build-out, which is estimated to be complete by 2015 or sooner. There are numerous ways the Canyon Country Campus will benefit the community in which it is located: * College classes that are offered close to the thousands of new homes projected for the area will eliminate a commute across the SC Valley for those residents and will provide essential educational services to the developing neighborhoods in the area. * There will be a major improvement of the appearance and use of that portion of the Sierra Highway corridor. Planting of grass, trees and irrigation will also contribute to reducing airborne dust and dirt in the area. * Students making the Canyon Country Campus a destination will spend money in local restaurants, gas stations and other businesses in the area and provide a significant economic impact on business volume and job creation locally. Construction and build-out of the campus over the next 10 years will also bring many millions of dollars into the local economy. * The campus will eventually provide employment for nearly 300 staff members and faculty when it is built out. * Facilities will be available for community use through the Civic Center Act and through partnerships with the Sulphur Springs School District, Wm. S. Hart Union High School District, the City of Santa Clarita Parks and Recreation Department, and other local agencies. * Expansion of services to business partners such as additional skills training, continuing education for employees and job-specific classes will benefit the economic development of the area. * The Valley’s air quality will improve since thousands of local residents won’t be driving across the valley to the Valencia campus which will result in reduced vehicle emissions. * According to Santa Clarita Transit, the education center will be an increased generator of public transit riders. Is the Canyon Country Campus a vocational campus? No. This campus will have a balance of general education, transfer courses, career education, and community service. All major disciplines will be represented. What academic programs will be offered at the campus?
A full complement of courses
will be offered there eventually, including basic
skills, transferable classes, and career & technical
education in subjects like Real Estate, Computer Information
Technology, Early Childhood Education and more. Eventually, we will have a Child Development Center. The facilities are in the plans, and we are waiting to get our State approval to open a Child Development Center on the Canyon Country campus. In the meantime, we will be offering Child Development classes to train professionals. Will the programming at CCC duplicate that of the Valencia campus? Not an exact duplication. At Valencia there might be eight choices to fulfill the Fine Arts requirement, while at CCC there may be only three choices. A general transfer degree will be available by using a combination of Canyon Country classes and on-line classes. Is Canyon Country going to have any unique majors or programs? Yes. Our intent is to have programs that are totally housed at Canyon Country Campus. Just as at Valencia, we will have some unique classes and programs, there will also be unique programs and classes for Canyon Country. Will any arts programs be held at CCC? Yes. Our intent is to react to the community needs with art programming, initially, programs that do not require extensive equipment. For example, we will initially offer watercolor painting and oil painting. When we are in our permanent buildings, then we’ll have the option of offering larger, more intense programming such as ceramics. What will the hours of operation be at the new site? When the campus opens in the fall of 2007, we expect that its core hours will be from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to mid-afternoon on Fridays. It is likely that those hours will increase over time as programs and activities grow at the location. Special programs will meet on Saturday (i.e. PACE, community education, specialized training). Can high school students attend the new campus? Yes. High school students can enroll as concurrent students through the established, College of the Canyons, procedures. Another option would be to apply via the Hart District to be part of the Early College High School, which will be housed at the Canyon Country Campus. Will there be athletic teams/facilities? Athletic facilities that will become available at the new Canyon Country campus eventually will include weight lifting and exercise labs, running areas and a playing field. There will be an activity room for yoga and similar activities immediately available at the opening in fall 2007. Intercollegiate sports teams will continue to be hosted at the Valencia campus. How will the property be landscaped? Initial plans call for landscaping that is “appropriate to the environment” with green belts, trees and plantings native to the area. Areas for students to congregate comfortably will be incorporated into both the initial design and in the “permanent” building designs. There will be sufficient exterior lighting and appropriate signage to provide a safe and logical campus experience. How will the campus be staffed? At its opening in fall 2007, we expect that a small number of classified and part-time employees will receive “multi-tasking assignments” to fulfill a number of roles on a day-to-day basis. We expect to have a person in charge, someone to handle Admissions & Records issues, someone to process phone inquiries and drop-in visitors, a visible security presence and someone to handle custodial responsibilities. In the classrooms, there will be a mix of full-time and part-time instructors according to the types of classes offered. As the site expands, additional staff and faculty will be assigned based on need. At opening, students will be able to achieve a general education/liberal arts transfer degree in four semesters through a combination of on-site classes and online classes. As time progresses additional degree and certificate programs will be added when feasible. Yes. A number of services will be available upon opening such as faculty office hours, counseling, registration, and possibly even a small bookstore operation. At the initial opening, food will be available through vending services. Library services will be available in a modular building that will be shared with a tutorial lab. In addition to online library services, a print and audiovisual Reserve section, a leisure reading collection, a reference service and multiple computer workstations, as well as regular study spaces will also be available. Additional services will be added as the site grows and as permanent buildings replace the temporary ones. Will I be missing anything academically by attending classes in Canyon Country and not in Valencia? The classes held in Canyon Country will be of the same high quality that students have come to appreciate from the Valencia Campus. There will be no difference in the content or rigor of classes from one campus to the other. College of the Canyons is noted for its outstanding delivery of education and that will not, in any way, change based on where a class happens to be located. How much parking will there be? The facility will ultimately feature 1,500 parking spaces, phased in as building and student population progresses. Will I have to pay for parking? Yes. One parking pass will provide access to both the Canyon Country campus and the Valencia campus. Will the campus have bike lanes? The campus will be bike friendly. The issue of bike lanes on Sierra Highway is something that has to be discussed with the city and the county. The college can control the bike lanes on its property. Will the historic “Honey House,” that was purchased as part of the 70-acre tract be torn down? No. The Honey House is currently being used as offices for the construction, but future uses may include use as an information center, a local history repository, a meeting center or any of a number of other possibilities. What impact will the new campus have on traffic along Sierra Highway? Architects and college officials have been working with the City of Santa Clarita to deal with any impacts the new campus will have on traffic flow in the area. The architectural plan calls for an entry road with a dedicated right-turn lane into the campus from Sierra Highway, a signal light at the exit, and one-way traffic on campus through a series of “loops” to access campus locations. Will the buildings be available for community uses as they are on the Valencia campus? Under the Civic Center Act (Education Code Section 82537), the college District can make its facilities available for use by community groups and organizations provided those uses do not interfere with the primary use of those facilities for regular college purposes. The college’s Board of Trustees has adopted policies (Board Policy #719) that pertain to these uses and complete explanations, rules, regulations, applications and fee structures are available at: www.canyons.edu/CivicCenter or by calling (661) 362-3240. Will the facilities be made available for additional uses? The Wm. S. Hart Union School District, with funding from the Bill and Belinda Gates Foundation, will operate a “Early College High School” (ECHS) at the site. Early College High Schools are small, autonomous schools that are designed so students can achieve up to two years of college credit at the same time as they are earning a high school diploma, essentially providing students the opportunity to complete six years of education in five years. A citizens’ advisory committee has been formed to help guide the evolution of the site. The committee meets every 4 to 5 weeks and currently consists of about 35 community members, City representatives, educators, business leaders and education advocates. The committee has already met with the architects (KBZ Architects), administrators and others involved with site development to exchange ideas about how the site can be developed to the maximum benefit of everyone. The college staff is also developing an educational and facilities master plan for the site, using demographic, economic market data and analysis of student participation rates to develop an educational (curriculum) plan. Anyone interested in serving on the advisory committee may call the college at (661) 362-3400 for more information. Why should businesses support the Canyon Country site? There will be many plusses for businesses as a result of development of the campus site. • There will be a noticeable improvement of that portion of the Sierra Highway corridor as landscaping is installed and the area takes on a new “look.” The improved look will be conducive to a more friendly and inviting business environment. • Local businesses will immediately benefit from the arrival of more than 3000 faculty, staff and students since they will require all kinds of services as they make the site the center of their daily lives. • College of the Canyons is proud of its partnerships with businesses in the Santa Clarita Valley. Many of those partnerships involve the college providing needed training for employees and the development of this new site is a perfect way to open new relationships with firms located in the eastern part of the SCV. • There are also opportunities for businesses and individuals to support the college financially through sponsorships and naming opportunities for buildings, common areas, lecture halls, labs, and the like. Rev. 6/21/07 JRM |
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College of the Canyons - Canyon
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