Reaching the Growing Labor Force with New Community College Partnership

As a progressive institute of higher learning, the University of La Verne continues to live up to its core value of diversity and inclusivity by expanding its educational offerings throughout the state to better serve diverse student populations. One of the ways that this is being implemented is through a new community college workforce educational partnership with the California Community College Classified Senate (4CS).

4CS is a statewide classified professional organization that represents the classified category of community college workers in non-academic positions who are strong stewards for the success of students. Their mission is to recognize and value the classified senates’ insight and support of student success and to advocate for inclusion in governance and active participation in professional development.

Education experts from Insight Into Diversity’s article emphasize the crucial role of community colleges in enhancing diversity within four-year institutions following the Supreme Court’s ban on affirmative action. With broadened access to higher education and transfer pathways,

This partnership creates new educational pathways for more than 27,000 California community college classified professionals at 116 community colleges throughout California. This includes options to pursue a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree from the University of La Verne, providing opportunities to gain new skills and knowledge, advance careers, and boost social and economic mobility.

University of La Verne Management Professor Issam Ghazzawi has experience in the challenges and opportunities behind the growing workforce and the benefits this program offers.

“One of the main purposes of the university is to supply graduates that can grow within their occupation and continue to be relevant throughout their careers,” Ghazzawi said. “Universities must ensure responsiveness to the demand for workforce development by contributing to social equity and reaching out to first-generation and underserved students who have been historically marginalized. This growing student population will be a large majority of our growing workforce and needs to be supported.”

The collaboration between the University of La Verne and 4CS exemplifies the strength in partnerships, and bridges opportunities for higher education and the incredible stewards of student success in California community colleges.

“We are proud to be the higher education partner for the California Community Colleges Classified Senate and create a bridge for our dedicated colleagues to more than 65 high-quality, comprehensive academic and professional programs built to meet the needs of non-traditional, working individuals,” said University of La Verne President Pardis Mahdavi. “This alignment demonstrates the commitment of both partners in supporting professional development and statewide workforce career growth and success.”