College of the Canyons has been named a 2021 Equity Champion of Higher Education by the Campaign for College Opportunity for its exemplary work in awarding Associate Degrees for Transfer to Latinx students.

Students who earn ADT’s are guaranteed admission to a California State University.

“Across all California Community Colleges, your campus ensured that a high proportion of degree or transfer seeking Latinx students received an ADT in the 2019-2020 academic year,” wrote Amber Roman, communications associate for The Campaign for College Opportunity, in the announcement. “This is a tremendous achievement and the real work of equity.”

The Campaign for College Opportunity analyzed the percentage point gap (PPG) of California community colleges, which identifies campuses that are excelling in awarding ADTs to Latinx students, relative to their campus wide ADT conferral rates.

“We are honored to be recognized as a distinguished California community college that is deeply committed to creating a more equitable learning environment for our students,” said Chancellor Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook. “The implementation of ADTs has proven to be successful in helping many of our students reach their transfer goals.”

According to college data, there was a 163% increase in the number of Hispanic students earning an Associate’s Degree for Transfer over a five-year period.

The college will be recognized at a virtual celebration held on Tuesday, Nov. 16.

The Zoom event is expected to draw approximately 300 attendees representing California’s higher education leadership, elected officials, corporate sponsors, and civic and business leaders.

The Campaign for College Opportunity is a non-profit bipartisan organization that works toward increasing the number of California students attending two- and four-year colleges and who complete their college education.

For more information about the Campaign for College Opportunity, visit the organization’s website here.