College of the Canyons


College of the Canyons is a public community college operated by the Santa Clarita Community College District in Santa Clarita, California. The college is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and has campus locations in Valencia and Canyon Country.

History

Local voters approved the formation of the college in 1967. It officially opened in 1969, operating in temporary quarters on the campus of William S. Hart High School in Newhall. In 1970, the college purchased a permanent campus site along the east side of Interstate 5, south of Valencia Boulevard and north of McBean Parkway. The college relocated to a collection of modular buildings on the site in 1970 as permanent facilities were being built. Over the years, educational facilities have been built to ensure that they blend with the natural attributes of the location, creating a relaxed and comfortable physical environment.

Campus

The college is located on of rolling, tree-dotted hills in the Valencia section within the incorporated city of Santa Clarita in northern Los Angeles County, California.
Recent additions to the campus include a 926-seat performing arts center, built in partnership with the city of Santa Clarita, that offers academic, community and professional productions. The facility, which also holds a smaller experimental theater, opened in late 2004. A new Music/Dance Building opened adjacent to the performing arts center in 2005. As of early 2006, construction was under way on a new High-Tech Classroom Building and a major expansion of the Laboratory Building.
In 2007, the college opened its Canyon Country campus on a site located at 17200 Sierra Hwy., Santa Clarita, CA 91351. The campus had an enrollment of 3,845 in the fall of 2009. Its first permanent building, the Applied Technology Education Center, was scheduled to open in 2011 to provide education and training in a variety of high-demand "green" technology fields. The campus is composed primarily of modular buildings that are situated to best accommodate planned permanent buildings as they are built in the years to come. The campus has an outdoor venue, the Carl A. Rasmussen Amphitheater, that has hosted a variety of campus and community events such as the popular Star Party.

Academics

With 191 full-time faculty members, the college offers Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees in 69 academic programs, as well as credentials in 82 certificate programs. Programs include Audio/Radio Production, Biotechnology, Child Development, Dance, Film/Video Production, Fire Control Technology, Industrial Manufacturing, Music, Nursing, Paralegal Studies, Television Production, Theatre Arts and Video Game Animation. Recent additions to the curricula include programs in insurance, web development, ESL, hotel-restaurant entrepreneurship, human services-gerontology and medical laboratory technician.
The college also is a participant in several innovative partnerships that have redefined the traditional role of community colleges. Academy of the Canyons, a middle college high school operated by the William S. Hart Union High School District, opened on the College of the Canyons campus in 2002. The concept allows promising high school students to attend high school and college concurrently. The college also oversees the University Center, a collection of public and private universities that offer advanced degree programs on the college's campus, eliminating the need for residents to commute long distances to earn their degrees. Also operating at the college are the Center for Applied Competitive Technologies and the Employee Training Institute, both of which have helped local businesses become more efficient and train employees in the latest emerging fields. The Small Business Development Center and the i3 Advanced Technology Center, hosted by the college, leverages college resources and provides addition support and seminars to assist entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Student life

Since 1994, the COC Speech Team has been recognized nationally at six consecutive Phi Rho Pi National Tournaments for all three major areas of speech competition. Headed by Professor Michael Leach, the team has advanced in its success over the years. Most recently, the team left the 2013 Phi Rho Pi National Tournament with five medals including, one gold, one silver and three bronze medals.

Athletics

The college athletics teams are nicknamed the Cougars and competes as a member of the California Community College Athletic Association in the Western State Conference for all sports except football, which competes in Southern California Football Association. The college currently fields eight men’s and nine women’s varsity teams; including baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, football, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming, women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, and women's volleyball.
The men's golf team has won nine state championships 1991 and 8 since 2000 women's golf won the state championship in fall of 2001,2007 and back to back championships in 2018 and 2019. This is the third time that the women's and men's team have won back to back state championships in the same academic year The men's football team won the national championship in 2004. The men's ice hockey club won the ACHA Division III National Title in 2011. The men's baseball team has also won three state championships 1981, 1983 and 1986.
As of 2017, COC has won 179 conference titles, 31 state titles, and 1 national title. Of the conference titles, baseball holds 23, men's basketball holds 8, women's basketball holds 15, men's cross country holds 4, football holds 11, men's golf holds 23, women's golf holds 8, women's soccer holds 10, softball holds 14, men's swim holds 8 individual titles, women's swim holds 1 individual title, women's dive holds 2, men's track and field holds 2 team titles and 27 individual titles, women's track and field holds 1 team title and 17 individual titles, and women's volleyball holds 5. The 31 state titles are held by 7 teams: baseball, men's track and field, women's track and field, men's golf, woman's golf, football, and men's cross country. The one national championship was won by COC football in 2004.

Filming location