Southwestern College, in Chula Vista, truly puts the word “community” in community college.

    As the only institution of higher learning in the southern part of San Diego County, since 1961 SWC has become home to thousands of traditional and returning students who have found in education a path to success and opportunity.

    In addition to the main campus in Chula Vista, the Southwestern Community College District has Higher Education Centers in National City, San Ysidro, and Otay Mesa.

    For the end of Fall 2009, the last period for which the college has statistics, there were 20,342 students. Fifty-five percent of its student population is Latino.

    In an interview with , SWC Superintendent Dr. Raj K. Chopra said that the overall state of the college is getting better, in spite of all the recent challenges it has faced.

    Although in the past year, the state budget cuts to education affected Southwestern College funding, Chopra highlighted that the college is in fact educating 700 more students for which it is not receiving funds, which equals to more than $3 million in funding.

    “In spite of the financial crisis, we have not laid-off any full-time employees,” he added.

    In April, the college announced plans for the largest new development since its original construction. Once complete, the 110,000 square foot project will include a new college bookstore, classroom space, food court, art gallery, culinary arts program, wellness center, administrative offices, conference space and police station.

    This year, in addition to announcing its expansion, the college has had many achievements. The college started two new programs in biotechnology and phlebotomy (the dictionary describes this as a cut into the vein or drawing blood). Graduates of the dental hygiene program scored 100 percent pass rate on the National Dental Hygiene Board examination. Graduates also scored six percent higher than national average. This Spring, 111 EOPS students graduated with AA degrees and 49 students transferred to 4-year institutions.

    But not everybody agrees with Chopra and not everybody in the college is so confident in his ability to lead the college. Earlier this year, he received a rating of “F” in a faculty survey. Also, last year he received No Confidence votes from the SWC Academic Senate, Council of Chairs, and classified employee union. The SWC Governing Board also received a No Confidence vote from the Academic Senate last year.

    Another issue that has arisen at the college is that the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) placed the college on probation in February, 2010. WASC indicated the college needed to improve in ten critical areas, including better technology, enhanced professional development, and building a community of trust.

    During the interview with La Prensa San Diego, Chopra said that meeting all the accreditation requirements were “a priority” for SWC and that committees had been created to help meet all requirements.

    He said he wanted to make sure students knew that they are at no risk of not being able to transfer to four-year institutions, something that has created lots of rumors among students.

    “There will be no impact on students whatsoever. There will be no impact on them of any type. Students planning to transfer should have no concern about this,” he said.

    A WASC committee will visit the college in October. The college has until October 2011 to resolve all issues. Chopra said he is very optimistic the college will be able to meet all of the requirements set by the accreditation committee, but he encouraged students to get involved in this matter.

    “This should be a total college effort, including students,” Chopra said.

    Manuel Lopez Jr., newly elected Associated Student Organization president and student trustee, agreed with Chopra that students should be more involved in trying to resolve the accreditation issue.

    “We’re at a point where we are all trying to work hard to maintain accreditation,” Lopez said. “Students have to be more involved, and the administration has to have its doors open to work with them in this problem.”

    Lopez said that there needs to be more communication among all sides of the college, something he will try to achieve as student trustee, taking information from the board and presenting it to students.

    Terry Davis, who has been a professor and administrator at Southwestern for almost 25 years, said that SWC is always looking for ways to improve its service to students.

    “Southwestern College is a student-centered institution, putting students first. We always keep them in mind when making decisions. Our goal is for students to become strong community people,” Davis said.

    Governing Board President Yolanda Salcido said that SWC is doing better.

    “I would say that we are in a very good shape. We’ve been able to manage our resources very well. We’re making a lot of progress and I’m confident we will overcome all challenges,” she said.

    Salcido, who has been on the board for eight years and will be seeking reelection in November, said that the board receives monthly reports on the accreditation process.

    For Chopra, the 2010-2011 will be a year of change, of progress for Southwestern College, which will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2011.

    “We’ve been able to bring the college out of crisis. We’re ready to meet all challenges ahead. This benefits students and the whole college community. We should celebrate our accomplishments.”

            To learn more about Southwestern College, visit www.swccd.edu.