Long Beach City College (LBCC) has been named a 2020 Champion of Higher Education for the third time in four years by the Campaign for College Opportunity.

“LBCC is one of the top performers in Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) conferrals,” according to Michele Siqueiros, President of the Campaign for College Opportunity. “We are proud to recognize LBCC’s dedicated leadership in working to ensure a strong transfer pathway.”

The ADTs are a new type of degree at LBCC. In the last ten years, the California Community Colleges have awarded over 217,000 Associate Degrees for Transfer and since 2016, LBCC has increased its conferral of ADTs by nearly 75 percent. The degree provides a streamlined pathway between the state’s community colleges and the California State University (CSU) system.

Earning the degree provides a number of benefits for LBCC students planning to transfer to the Cal State University (CSU) system, such as:

• Guaranteed admission into a university within the CSU system with a “similar” major (no guarantee to a specific campus)
• Earn an Associate Degree for completing transfer requirements
• Grants priority consideration when applying to impacted majors and/or campuses
• Guarantees a 60 (LBCC) 60 (CSU) unit pathway to CSU graduation
• Those who earn the ADT, transfer to the CSU with junior status.
• ADT degree holders from LBCC earn their Bachelor’s Degrees nearly twice as fast from CSUs.

“I am elated that the Campaign for College Opportunity has championed the Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act because it cleared the way for LBCC students to transfer and earn their Bachelor’s Degrees much faster from the CSU system,” said Long Beach Community College District (LBCCD) Interim Superintendent-President Lou Anne Bynum. “The commitment the Campaign has for our next generation of students ensures a stronger future for all of us.”

LBCC was recognized at the Campaign for College Opportunity’s event Advancing Higher Education Equity Speaker Series: Committing to Transfer as a Key Racial Equity Strategy on November 19. The virtual event brought together over 300 attendees representing California’s higher education leadership, elected officials, corporate sponsors, and civic and business leaders. The Campaign has honored California Community College ADT achievements at its annual event since 2016.

“When I was first elected to the LBCCD Board of Trustees in 2016, we were just starting to see the potential of ADT awards,” said LBCCD Board of Trustees President Vivian Malauulu. “Since then, we have capitalized on that great potential as proven by the consistent increase of ADT awards achieved by our students. We now have nearly a 75 percent increase in conferrals which is incredibly impressive. The Associate Degree for Transfer pathway is making college dreams a reality for thousands of our great LBCC students.”