College of the Canyons Chancellor Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook was unanimously appointed to serve on the College Promise National Advisory Board, a nonpartisan initiative dedicated to advancing tuition-free programs across two- and four-year colleges across the nation to increase the economic, social, and civic mobility of students.

“I am honored to have been appointed to College Promise National Advisory Board,” Van Hook said. “I look forward to working with the board to continue to advance and develop support to ensure that access to a high-quality college education is available to all.”

With 35 years at the helm of College of the Canyons, Chancellor Van Hook is the longest-serving CEO in the California community college system.

COC was among the first to launch its College Promise program, First Year Promise, in fall 2017, with a grant from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.  Out of 51 community college districts that applied, COC was one of only 14 colleges awarded a CCCCO grant through the California College Promise Innovation Grant Program.

The COC Foundation Board of Directors, then under the leadership of board member Steve Corn, successfully completed a campaign to raise more than $500,000 to expand the program’s resources.

Rebranded as Canyons Promise in 2019, the program has helped 4,053 COC students save more than $3.3 million in tuition and fees to date.

Students in the program have consistently outperformed their COC counterparts by consistently completing a high number of units and earning a higher grade point average in their first semester, and have persisted at a higher rate from semester to semester and year to year.

The College Promise National Advisory Board was created in 2015 by President Barack Obama as a push to offer all students two free years of community college tuition. The advisory board consists of leaders in education, government, business, nonprofit organizations and philanthropy, as well as students. Since then, the national movement has grown to more than 425 Promise programs in local communities in every state and 31 statewide Promise programs across the country.

For more information about Canyons Promise at COC, please visit the program’s webpage.