SBUnified
By the Santa Barbara Unified School District
Nearly 300 Santa Barbara Unified students signed up for Dual Enrollment at Santa Barbara City College during events throughout March.
“Vaquero Roundup” showed students and their families opportunities to take classes at SBCC over the summer in person, online, and at high schools.
289 rising freshman and high school students who attended the events on March 8th and March 22nd received in-person support to complete the SBCC steps to enrollment, including admissions application, parent consent forms, and course approvals.
High school and junior high counselors were available on-site to assist and provide guidance on selecting a course, completing the course approvals, and clearing prerequisites.
Counselors at the event said the setup was efficient and helped make the process of signing up for dual enrollment easier and more accessible than ever before.
“Preparing students for college and careers is of the utmost importance for our high schools. The Vaquero Round Up is part of our efforts to show college is an option for anyone who wants to continue their education. We thank SBCC for the partnership and look forward to finding more ways to make college accessible,” said Dr. Hilda Maldonado, Superintendent.
The dual enrollment partnership aims to ease the transition to college so high school students can experience empowering, encouraging, and transformative experiences and have multiple opportunities to successfully earn college and high school credit before completing their high school education.
“Attending college is a family decision for many, and that was apparent at our events, where we had more family members attending with their students than students. The success of Vaquero Roundup is due to the collaboration with our partners. Having high school, junior high, and college counselors, Program for Effective Access to College, and SBCC departments available in one space where students could complete their steps to enrollment and ask questions is what makes the event truly successful,” said Angelica Contreras, SBCC’s Acting Director of Admissions & Records & Dual Enrollment.
Students in the dual enrollment program can begin their college career while not paying tuition for college classes. Event attendees were also eligible for a $200 SBCC bookstore book grant for use in Summer 2023.
To learn more, visit the SBCC Dual Enrollment Website.
