One Year Later: Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 Emergency Grants on SBCC Students
The SBCC Foundation recently conducted a survey of students who received support through our COVID-19 Student Emergency Grant Fund. The report One Year Later: Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 Emergency Grants on SBCC Students is a summary of our findings. SBCC—like community colleges across the country—saw a sharp decline in enrollment over the past year. However, we can conclude from this survey that access to emergency grants made a meaningful difference for many SBCC students and helped them remain enrolled in classes during the darkest days of the pandemic. Read the report »
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SBCC Foundation Welcomes Back All Promise Students
As COVID restrictions ease and life returns to (a new) “normal,” the SBCC Promise is grappling with the long-term impacts of the pandemic on our students. Much like overall enrollment at SBCC, enrollment in the SBCC Promise has suffered a significant decline, down 35% since the start of remote learning. Even with all education-related costs covered by the Foundation, far too many Promise students have had to deviate from their academic paths.
In keeping with our commitment to increase college access, this fall the SBCC Foundation will be welcoming back all Promise students whose academic journeys were temporarily halted due to COVID-19. In typical years, Promise students are required to continue their education at SBCC uninterrupted for up to two years to remain eligible. It’s a big pledge for us, but one that we believe is necessary for the well-being and prosperity of our students, their families, and our community.
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$20 Million Gift from MacKenzie Scott
A New Era in Community College Philanthropy
This spring, the SBCC Foundation received the largest gift in its history from MacKenzie Scott. The gift was just one of 286 such gifts that she made in her third and most recent round of major gifts aimed at organizations and institutions doing a wide range of community-based work. In her June 15th post about the gifts, Scott wrote, “Higher education is a proven pathway to opportunity, so we looked for two- and four-year institutions successfully educating students who come from communities that have been chronically underserved.” The gift was notable not only for its size, but because it was both unsolicited and unrestricted. It was given because of SBCC’s long track record of successfully serving students – especially those facing the greatest obstacles.
Read more »
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Running Start Students Receive Free Computers from COX and human-I-T
Danielle and Diego (pictured above) are participating in Running Start, the six-week summer bridge program that helps local high school students prepare for college life at SBCC. They are two of 24 students in this year's program, all of whom received free Chromebooks, thanks to a donation from human-I-T made possible by a grant from Cox Communications.
Running Start, a program supported by the SBCC Foundation, provides students with academic and financial support along with skills to succeed in college. Since the students are recent, local high school graduates, they are also eligible to enroll in the SBCC Promise. If they do, all of their fees, books and supplies will be covered for two years.
Thanks to human-I-T and Cox Communications, the Running Start students this year are now even more ready for a successful fall semester!
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Assistance League of Santa Barbara Provides Scholarships to SBCC Promise Students
The Assistance League of Santa Barbara awarded 49 student scholarships through its collaboration with the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara and the SBCC Foundation.
The scholarship recipients included thirty-nine SBCC Promise students who are going into the trade or technical fields, and the scholarships cover supplies, books and fees for students studying in the fields of early child education, cosmetology, culinary arts, automotive services, nursing, radiography, construction technology, interior design, and real estate.
Assistance League of Santa Barbara scholarship committee members are shown in the photo above (left to right): Susan Hughes, Sydney Tredick, Nancy Revlin, Jan Inouye, Julie Boller, Joan Oakley, Diane Alexander. (Courtesy photo) Read more »
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