Statement

Our Mission

The West Valley-Mission Community College District unites our colleges in a shared vision of educational excellence where students representing diverse experiences and identities feel connected and supported in pursuit of their goals and aspirations.
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 Mission College

Mission College

Mission College is a public community college located in the City of Santa Clara, and in the heart of the Silicon Valley. We offer a future of transfer to a four year institution, a future in a career of your choice, a future of increasing skills for both higher education and the workforce and a future for an Associate’s Degree or Certificate that can get you on your way to any goal.
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Mission College
 

 West Valley

West Valley College

Located in Saratoga in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, this beautiful 143 acre campus is host to students from over 25 countries.
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West Valley
 
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 Historical Summary

With the approval of voters residing within Campbell Union and Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School districts and the Santa Clara Unified School District, West Valley Joint Community College District was established in January 1963.  In early 1964, a 143-acre site in Saratoga was purchased for what would become the permanent campus for West Valley College and the District offices.  The second campus in the College District, Mission College, began with the acquisition of twelve acres in Santa Clara and eventually grew to be a 164-acre site.  Mission College was temporarily located at Jefferson Intermediate School from 1975 to 1979.  With the completion of the first building phase in the fall of 1979, the new Mission College campus opened its doors to students.

In September 1985, the name of the District was changed from the West Valley Joint Community College District to West Valley-Mission Community College District (WVMCCD) to reflect the status of Mission College.  Since their inception, the two colleges have become major providers of credit and non-credit education in the Santa Clara Valley.  Though each college has developed its own character, style, programs and atmosphere, both are committed to academic excellence.  The faculty and staff on each campus are dedicated to assisting students to meet their academic goals, vocational interests, and special needs.  Every semester over 20,000 students enroll in courses at the colleges. Thousands of others take online, off-campus, or non-credit courses and seminars offered through a variety of programs. These programs are aimed at meeting the training and retraining needs of the people of Silicon Valley.

WVMCCD is part of California’s public community college system of 112 colleges in 72 districts across the state, which serves more than 2.5 million students and represents the largest system of higher education in the world. Community colleges are political subdivisions authorized by the Constitution of the State of California.  A seven-member Board of Trustees governs the District.  The voters of the communities served by the District elect Board members to office.  The Board of Trustees is responsible for the overall direction and control of the District so that it best meets the needs of the community it serves.

 Service Area

The West Valley-Mission Community College District has a population of approximately 350,000 people residing within its boundaries.  Specifically, the District serves the town of Los Gatos, the cities of Campbell, Monte Sereno, Santa Clara, and Saratoga, and a portion of the city of San Jose.*  Information about each service area is presented below:

San Jose

San Jose is the largest city in Santa Clara County, the third largest city in California and the 11th largest city in the U.S.  San Jose is ranked consistently by Fortune Magazine as one of the 10 best U.S. cities for business, is the “epicenter of information technology with about 1,500 of the nation’s 2,500 largest electronics firms” (Fortune Magazine), and is the U.S.’s fastest growing major export area.  San Jose also offers a wide variety of exciting cultural, recreational, educational, and entertainment opportunities. 

Santa Clara

Santa Clara is at the center of Silicon Valley and is in a strategic regional location convenient to freeways, airports, railroads, expressways, light rail, and other public transportation.  Santa Clara is home to thousands of well-educated, highly skilled workers and has an employment base of 135,370.  Santa Clara has a long tradition of quality public services and a well-maintained infrastructure.  The City has owned and operated its own electric, water and sewer utilities for over a century. Low business taxes, moderate real estate prices, and low crime rates are key components to its economic prosperity. 

Saratoga

Saratoga is situated at the entrance to an historic pass in the redwood-forested Santa Cruz Mountains.  From the mid-1800’s until World War II, Saratoga’s main industries were lumber and agriculture.  After World War II, the character of Saratoga changed forever from agricultural to suburban.  As space technology and the defense and electronics industries were established in nearby communities, Saratoga’s open land soon became more valuable for homes than it was for fruit orchards.  The City of Saratoga strives to maintain the elements of its natural beauty and colorful past through careful zoning policies and historic preservation. 

Los Gatos

Los Gatos flourishes in its blend of yesterday’s charm and today’s modern lifestyles.  Quaint merchant buildings house lively restaurants, coffeehouses, galleries, and boutiques while resplendent Victorians surround the downtown’s historic center.  Los Gatos strives to give local businesses excellent opportunities to grow and prosper while preserving its small town charm. 

Campbell

Campbell is located in the West Valley of Santa Clara County.  Initially a small farming community with three major canneries, Campbell has grown into a community where tradition and progress combine in a successful blend.  Today, major industries include retail and professional services.

Monte Sereno

Monte Sereno, the smallest city of the West Valley-Mission Community College District service area, is a community of approximately 1.56 square miles located in the southwestern portion of Santa Clara County at the base of the Santa Cruz mountains between City of Saratoga and the Town of Los Gatos. The all residential community of approximately incorporated as a city on May 14, 1957.

 Strategic Initiatives and Planning

 Free Community College

Overview

 

The Board of Trustees of the West Valley-Mission Community College District adopted a resolution on Tuesday, November 15, 2022, to use local funds to waive tuition and enrollment fees for its students.  In addition, the board also took the monumental step to waive the costs for students related to parking, health fees and childcare effective January 1, 2023.

 

Chancellor Brad Davis will now be authorized to work closely with local lawmakers on authoring, introducing and championing legislation that would allow the District to use unrestricted general funds to provide fee waivers to students residing within its boundaries.

 

“The adoption of this resolution marks an inflection point in the history of our District enabling students to shed financial burdens that often force them to choose between their education and the responsibilities of food, housing, transportation and the myriad of financial challenges they face,” said Chancellor Bradley Davis.

 

The resolution includes several transparency requirements and safeguards including a provision that requires the District’s Board of Trustees to establish a framework and adopt policies to determine eligibility. Students will need to also demonstrate financial need and reside in the District’s boundary preventing any competitive advantage with neighboring community college districts.

 

The resolution incorporates the U.S. Department of Education’s definition of a student’s cost of attendance (COA) which includes an estimate of tuition and fees, cost of living expenses, cost of books, supplies, transportation, loan fees, and miscellaneous expenses including costs of a personal computer, allowance for childcare or other dependent, costs related to a disability, and reasonable costs for eligible study-abroad programs.

 

The District will need to publicly provide financial impact information at an upcoming Board of Trustees meeting that details it has the funds to reduce fees for students and will not seek a reimbursement from the State.

 

 Download a signed copy of the Board approved resolution


Endorsements

 

“As we witness a troubling trend of increased housing and food insecurity among our young adults, higher education continues to be unattainable for so many,” says Senator Dave Cortese who serves on the California Senate Education Committee and championed guaranteed income for unhoused students. “I am grateful for the leadership and partnership of the West Valley-Mission Community College District Board of Trustees as we work to create a path for our local students to access education, employment, career advancement and lifelong success.”

-Senator Dave Cortese

 

“The total cost of attending college is deterring many students from achieving their academic goals.  When you consider the total costs of college including food, housing, and health care, in addition to tuition and books, we are crippling students and undermining their ability to succeed in the classroom. Many students are struggling to make ends meet, working multiple jobs and relying on food pantries to eat and friends’ couches to sleep. I’m grateful to the students we have heard from and look forward to working with them to address the issues they raised,” said Assemblymember Marc Berman, who chairs the Assembly Select Committee on the Master Plan for Higher Education in California

 -Assemblymember Marc Berman


Free Community College Fact Sheet

 

  • State law requires community colleges charge $46 per unit, or almost $1,500 per year for a full-time student.

 

  • California Education code 76300 requires each Community College District to collect tuition and enrollment fees for students enrolled in courses.

 

  • Recently, the San Mateo Community College District worked with their legislative partners to enact SB893 which amends the education code to waive tuition and enrollment fees for students residing in the district.

 

  • The District endeavors to enact legislation what would permit the same.

 

  • Upon the change in law, the district would be permitted to waive (or charge reduced) tuition and enrollment fees and use its local funds to provide students with free community college courses on each of our two campuses.

 

  • The West Valley-Mission Community College Board of Trustees is required to adopt appropriate and necessary resolutions relating to qualifications for students who would be eligible for reduced fees.

 

  • This change to the California Education code would also reconcile any concerns relating to potential gifts of public funds.

 

  • This program would not increase state funding for the District or commit the State to allocate any additional resources.

 

  • The resolution grants the District flexibility to determine all eligibility requirements.

 

  • The resolution authorizes the Chancellor to work closely with state legislators on authoring, introducing and championing legislation that uses District unrestricted general funds to provide fee waivers to residents of the District.

 

  • The WVM Board of Trustees must establish a framework and adopt policies to determine eligibility and students must demonstrate financial need (as determined by the District).

 

  • Students must reside in the WVMCCD boundary, thus preventing any real or perceived competition with neighboring community college districts.

 

  • WVMCCD must publicly provide financial impact information to a public Board meeting showing that the District has the funds to reduce fees for students and the District is prohibited from receiving reimbursement from the State.

 

  • We will incorporate the U.S. Department of Education’s definition of a student’s Total Cost of Attendance (COA) which includes:

 

  • COA is the estimate of tuition and fees, cost of room and board (or living expenses), cost of books, supplies, transportation, loan fees, and miscellaneous expenses (including a reasonable amount for the documented cost of a personal computer), allowance for childcare or other dependent care, costs related to a disability, and reasonable costs for eligible study abroad programs.

 

  • This resolution would authorize the District to use local unrestricted general funds, in addition to funding received under the California College Promise, to help students with total cost of attendance.  The bill would define total cost of attendance for a student attending WVMCC as including the student’s tuition and fees, books, and supplies, living expenses, transportation expenses, and any other student expenses, and any other student expenses use to calculate a student’s financial need for purposes of federal Title IV student aid programs.

 

 


History

 

In June 23, 2022, by a majority vote of the Senate Education Committee, Senator Josh Becker and Assembly Member Marc Berman received authorization to proceed with San Mateo County Community College District (San Mateo CCCD) to use their unrestricted general funds to establish a tuition fee waiver and to provide financial assistance for the total cost of attendance for qualifying students of the District.

The major provisions associated with this action would permit West Valley-Mission Committee College District (WVMCCD) to adopt a policy that uses local unrestricted general funds to provide fee waivers to students with the greatest financial need when other fee waivers are not provided to those students, and would require the policy to include a requirement to prepare a fiscal impact statement, including a 3-year projection of the fiscal impact of the fee waiver on the community college district, as specified.

Existing law establishes the California College Promise, to be administered by the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. Existing law requires the chancellor to distribute funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to community college districts to fund colleges that meet prescribed requirements. Existing law authorizes a community college that receives funding under the program to, among other things, waive some or all of the fees for up to 2 academic years for first-time students who are enrolled in 12 or more semester units or the equivalent at the college and complete and submit either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid or a California Dream Act application.

This bill, if approved by the State Legislature would authorize WVMCCD to use local unrestricted general funds, in addition to funding received under the California College Promise, to provide assistance to students for the total cost of attendance. The bill would define total cost of attendance for a student attending a community college as including the student's tuition and fees, books and supplies, living expenses, transportation expenses, and any other student expenses used to calculate a student's financial need for purposes of federal Title IV student aid programs.

This bill would require the WVMCCD to use local unrestricted general funds for the purposes of these provisions only for students who reside within the boundary of the community college district.

This bill would require the governing board of the WVMCCD to submit a report to the State Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges, the Department of Finance, and the appropriate committees of the Legislature on the implementation of these provisions, as specified.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the WVMCCD.

50% Law Qualifications

 

The Fifty Percent Law of Education Code Section 84362, requires all community college districts, regardless of their base aid status, to spend at least half of their “current expense of education” budgetary dollars on “salaries for classroom instructions”. As defined in the Education Code, faculty salaries, classified staff salaries, employee benefits, books, supplies, and equipment replacement account for “current expense for education” and fifty percent of this amount is to be spent on salaries for classroom instructors or faculty.

 

A district must provide fifty percent of its current expenses of education funds for faculty salaries or receive an exemption by the California Community College (CCC) Board of Governors.  A district, who does not comply nor receives an exemption by the CCC Board of Governors, would be in violation of the Fifty Percent Law and the CCC Board of Governors would withhold apportionment funds of a determined amount until the CCC district adheres to the Fifty percent Law.

 

West Valley-Mission Community College District is a base aid district and HAS been in compliance with the Fifty Percent Law since it’s existence.