College officials have announced that College of the Canyons will offer a 2013 winter session of classes.

The college’s 2013 winter session will begin Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013, and is expected to include a schedule of approximately 100 online class sections — representing a roughly 25 percent increase from the college’s 2012 winter session.

The courses being offered will primarily be general education “core” classes that all students need to either graduate, transfer to a four-year school or meet course prerequisites associated with their immediate educational plans.

The five-week winter session will conclude Saturday, Feb. 2, with spring semester classes beginning Monday, Feb. 4, 2013.

“At College of the Canyons we are continuously looking for ways to increase access to education for our students and accommodate their educational needs,” said Jasmine Ruys, director of admissions, records and online services at the college. “The ability to offer students a 2013 winter session would not have been possible without the foresight of the Board of Trustees and college administration team to plan for all possible budget scenarios, while keeping the best interests of students in mind.”

In recent weeks college administrators had decided not to offer winter classes, as a cost saving measure in anticipation of the possible defeat of Prop. 30 and the forecast of statewide “trigger cuts” to the California Community College System.

Locally, those cuts would have equated to a roughly $4.6 million hit to the college’s 2012-13 budget.

Instead, the voters’ passage of Prop. 30 is expected to provide the state’s community colleges approximately $210 million in additional funding during the 2012-13 academic year, which will help restore access to desperately needed classes.

By making the decision to offer a winter session the college will be able to provide class space for approximately 3,500 students.

Winter session registration is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Nov. 14, and will continue until all classes are full. Currently registered COC students can expect to receive a notification message about their specific registration time/date as early as this weekend.

However, with most community colleges in the region not offering a winter session, classes are expected to be in extremely high demand. With that in mind, college officials are sharing the following registration tips with all students:

* Make sure the college’s Admissions and Records office has your current email, telephone number and postal addresses so that the college can provide you with up-to-date information regarding your registration time/date.

* Know what classes you really want and sign up for them during your registration period. Once you are registered for a class, only cancel it if you are absolutely sure of your decision.

* Check the online schedule of classes frequently for updated class listings and/or changes.

Students who enroll for classes during the 2013 winter session will be charged a $46 per unit enrollment fee.

For more information about the College of the Canyons 2013 winter session, contact the college’s Admissions and Records office at 661-362-3280.