Rising Scholars
College of the Canyons began offering face-to-face courses to our justice involved (Rising Scholars) students in the Fall semester of 2015, with the passing of Senate Bill 1391. Credit courses are offered as a pathway to completing students’ general education requirements towards an Associate’s degree using IGETC (Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum) for transfer to CSU and UC schools. More information on IGETC and classes to be taken can be found in our catalog of classes. The School of Personal and Professional Learning began to offer courses to our Rising Scholars students in the Summer semester of 2020. From the 2019/2020 to 2020/2021 academic year, our credit and noncredit enrollments increased tenfold despite the pandemic.
Upcoming Events
COC’s Rising Scholars program, as well as Rising Scholars programs across the state are teaming up with The Access Project, a non-profit legal services organization, to provide clean slate services to our student community. Expunging your record and reducing your felonies, wherever possible, can make a difference when you are applying for jobs, looking for housing, and working to put the justice system behind you.
Through this free program, you'll be able to get a copy of your record from the Department of Justice (your "RAP sheet"). The Access Project will analyze your RAP to see if you have California convictions that can be expunged, reduced from felonies, or sealed. They will prepare all the necessary forms for you, help you write a personal statement to support your petitions, and even file the papers for you with the court. If applicable, they can also help you find out whether any deportable offenses can be changed and see if you are eligible to terminate sex offender registration.
You do not need to be currently enrolled to join. If you're not sure whether this program can benefit you, I encourage you to register and get your RAP so that The Access Project can advise you on what might be available to you. There are many new laws that might help! You can also check out their FAQs for more information on what clean slate can do for you.
This opportunity is open to all current and former students, as well as district employees and their family members
IMPORTANT:
To get started, you MUST register by going to AccessProjectCA.org/RSN. You can also use the QR code below to register.
Then, attend the kickoff meeting: Valencia Campus at The Student Center, Room 128 (STCN-128) on Friday March 31, 2023,
from 9:00am-12:00pm.
A representative from The Access Project will be here to introduce the program and answer your questions, and a Live Scan operator will be onsite to process your fingerprints so that you can get a copy of your official RAP sheet. If you absolutely can't make the meeting, you should still register, and you'll receive instructions on visiting a local Live Scan operator on your own to be fingerprinted.
There is lots more information on The Access Project's website, and you can also sign up for virtual office hours here.
COC Rising Scholars team members will be available at the Clean Slate project event to answer any questions you may have about our on-campus Rising Scholars program, as well as student services available to our Rising Scholars students