“Building partnerships makes communities stronger,” said Maureen Rubalcaba, Dean of Student Equity at San Diego Continuing Education (SDCE) as she explained SDCE’s newest partnership with the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA).
SDCE serves 44,000 students annually and is the largest provider of noncredit adult education in San Diego. The next step for many students after taking classes at SDCE is either higher education or a job. Nearly 5,500 students transitioned to City, Mesa or Miramar College in 2016-17 and more than 11,000 students report their educational goal is to either prepare for a new job or advance in a current career.
“Education and workforce go hand-in-hand and each contributes toward self-sufficiency and success,” said Carlos O. Turner Cortez, Ph.D., President of SDCE. “Our goal is to leverage resources and provide support to help students achieve and to ultimately build a successful strong workforce for the region.”
A student’s academic success can be tied to the emotional and social supports available to them beyond the classroom. SDCE has significantly increased these types of support resources over the past 18 months with new programs such as the San Diego Gateway to College and Career, which supports individual counseling in a case management style, and by offering classes at off-campus locations such as Second Chance and the San Diego Rescue Mission. The new partnership with HHSA is another recent example.
“By partnering with SDCE, we will better connect students with critical services that will help them succeed academically,” said HHSA Director Nick Macchione. “Research demonstrates that people are more successful in education and in achieving long term-goals when they are healthy and in stable living environments. We provide a diverse range of health and social services for individuals and families that promote wellness and support becoming self-sufficient that SDCE students will be able to access.”
Specifically, SDCE will be able to enroll eligible students for financial, nutrition, and healthcare coverage services such as CalWORKs, CalFresh and Medi-Cal as well as provide resource referrals. Staff from HHSA’s Central Region will be at three SDCE campuses beginning this fall.