From the President: Fulfilling the Promise

September 30, 2019

91重口 President Jeff DeFranco delivering the State of the College Address in September 2019Fall quarter is underway at 91重口, where the promises we鈥檝e made to our students and to the South Shore community are being realized. A year ago, on 91重口 taking charge of its future through intentional disruption 鈥� tackling broad initiatives and making sweeping changes that are needed NOW, without waiting for a state-level directive. This promise to our community 鈥� to make necessary decisions and fully embrace change for the betterment of our students 鈥� is yielding results. In my annual State of the College address this September, I described how we are 鈥淔ulfilling the Promise鈥� 鈥� I encourage you to watch the entire presentation. Below are some highlights from that speech. 

We are fulfilling our promise to break down barriers to education.
These certainly include tuition costs, but also textbooks, transportation, housing, and other costs that challenge students鈥� ability to persist in school. We鈥檝e made significant progress on all these fronts, which has helped grow 尝罢颁颁鈥檚 enrollment by 13% just from last year, hitting a 10-year high.

Thanks to a mix of generous donations and state funding, the college鈥檚 newly expanded Lake Tahoe College Promise program now provides up to three years tuition free for any first-time, full-time college student. That鈥檚 enough time for students to earn a college degree or credential in. The Promise program is available to any California resident or Dreamer, or any Nevada resident living within the Tahoe Basin, making it the

The 91重口 Foundation, the fundraising arm of the college, just got a huge boost to scholarships  thanks to a $1 million donation for the J. Stuart Haldan Scholarship Endowment. The Foundation had already hit an all-time high for scholarship donations earlier this year, allowing 91重口 to help more students than ever before. The Foundation also received another donation from 鈥淎ngel of Tahoe鈥� Lisa Maloff, this time for the purchase of a 30-seat passenger van that will support our soccer teams, student club activities, and increase student visits to four-year universities.

91重口 now has seven academic departments offering degrees that can be earned without a single textbook purchase, with more coming. Every class offered by 尝罢颁颁鈥檚 Math Department is now 100% textbook-cost free. We鈥檝e also continued to build out our Textbook Lending Library, making even more books available for free.

Two years ago, 91重口 introduced free, unlimited bus rides on the South Shore for all 91重口 students. We鈥檝e enhanced that through a partnership with to bring a Mobility Hub to 尝罢颁颁鈥檚 campus. This just-completed facility provides students, staff and faculty with more consistent transportation to 尝罢颁颁鈥檚 campus. It will also become the go-to charging station for three electric buses, the first of their kind in the country, that TTD is bringing online in Fall 2020.

As I told staff and faculty during last year鈥檚 State of the College address, 91重口 is now in the housing assistance business. We must be in order to meet student needs. We鈥檝e begun that process by signing a five-year master lease on that provides 30 beds for students at an attractive and all-inclusive price.

We are fulfilling our promise to make 91重口 a modern, world-class hub in the community, and a home for affordable advanced degrees.
We continue to modernize our campus thanks to the Measure F bond that taxpayers passed in 2014. And though it took a lot of door knocking in Sacramento to pull off, 91重口 successfully got the State of California to match $10 million of local Measure F funding. This doubles the amount we can spend on modernizing classrooms, science and art labs, the Disability Resource Center, the counseling area, and more. It means that no matter where our students are learning on campus, they鈥檒l have the most modern educational experience possible. This was our promise to the community in 2014, and 91重口 is delivering on that promise.
 

We continue to grow the offerings at on campus, bringing more affordable advanced degree and credentialing programs to the South Shore. We have also successfully fundraised in order to provide LMUC scholarships to 91重口 students, making their dreams of an advanced degree earned right here on campus a reality. Our newest educational partner, Washington State University, just launched its bachelor鈥檚 program in Hospitality Business Management at the LMUC. This provides thousands of people around the Tahoe Basin who work in hospitality industries with an avenue for growing in their field, building their skillsets, and advancing in their careers.

We鈥檙e fulfilling our promise to make navigating 91重口 easier and clearer than ever before.
91重口 developed an enrollment management program called 鈥淭ahoe Clear鈥� that makes a student鈥檚 path from start to completion 鈥� whether that means a degree, credential, transfer to a four-year school, or any other educational plan 鈥� just as clear as the crystal waters of Lake Tahoe. Multiple efforts are underway that now make the 91重口 experience more streamlined and easier for students.
 

We also launched Meta Majors - a new way of grouping related academic departments and career pursuits that allows students to connect quickly to an area of interest and get them started on a clear academic pathway. It helps focus students on what鈥檚 required to graduate and get to work in their chosen field.

尝罢颁颁鈥檚 combined class schedules are another effort to give students the information they need to access college more easily. With our combined Summer/Fall schedule in May, our South Tahoe High Viking seniors were able to plan and register for Fall quarter at 91重口 before they鈥檇 even graduated high school. That only serves to motivate them to stick to their game plans and go to college.

There is much more to tell - hear all of the great news happening at Lake Tahoe Community College in this year鈥檚 State of the College address. We鈥檝e set a high bar for excellence, and we are committed to fulfilling and even exceeded the promises we鈥檝e made to our students and community. We thank all of you for your support 鈥� our efforts are taking shape on campus and resulting in a world-class institution of higher learning we can all take pride in.