Fresno City College is expanding opportunities for high school students and the general public to earn credits toward a college degree by starting neighborhood campuses at Edison and Sunnyside high schools.

Fresno City College President Carole Goldsmith delivered the news during the first State of the College Address Wednesday morning in the Old Administration Building Auditorium.

Registering For Classes

Goldsmith said anyone interested can register at Edison High School in Building W, Room 101, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug., 21, and at Sunnyside High School in Building B, room S-112, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 20.
Goldsmith said students can also register online anytime before Aug. 18 for Edison High School and before Aug. 17 for Sunnyside High School.
Evening classes at Edison start Aug. 28 and will be Tuesdays and Thursdays. Classes at Sunnyside will be Monday and Wednesday evenings beginning Monday, Aug. 27. Goldsmith said all classes are three-units and cost $46 per unit. She said classes are open to the general public and parking is free.
Goldsmith said work on Fresno City’s satellite campus in west Fresno continues, along with a new police and first responder training center in southeast Fresno.

Classes Also Offered At Fresno Pacific University

Goldsmith said classes will also start Aug. 13 at Fresno Pacific University’s North Fresno Campus.
Goldsmith said the State Center Community College District Board of Trustees approved an agreement with Fresno Pacific on Tuesday night. Classes will be open to students from all of the district’s campuses.

Those interested can apply online. Daytime classes begin Aug. 13.
“We are ground zero in making sure our Valley is successful in making sure our students are college and career ready,” Goldsmith said.

Top-of-the Line Nursing Program

Such a statement couldn’t be more true for Fresno City’s 55-year-old nursing program, which is the largest program in the state and the second largest in the nation.

Goldsmith said the school’s nursing program has more than 450 students and its graduation rate exceeds 80 percent. Since the spring 2015 semester, 685 nursing students have graduated from Fresno City’s nursing program.
Goldsmith added that FCC has seen a 42 percent increase in associate degrees the last five years, and had 5,604 students transfer to a four-year institution last year.
Goldsmith said the school is also teaming up with other community colleges throughout the Valley for a program called “15 to finish,” which focuses on getting students to graduate in two years by taking 15 units a semester.

Student Transportation and Parking

In addition to the school’s partnership with Fresno Area Express (FAX), which allows students to ride free with a student identification card, Goldsmith said another solution to boost student transportation and parking issues include the school’s Bolt to College program. It is a carpool service that utilizes Chevrolet Bolt EVs to transport nearly 600 Fresno City students living in west Fresno County.
“It will reduce the need for parking and reduce the wear and tear on the streets and reduce carbon emissions,” Goldsmith said.
She said State Center’s new district office in downtown Fresno has a 642-space parking garage that will also help alleviate parking problems at the central Fresno campus. Goldsmith said a shuttle program that will provide transportation for students living in downtown is also in the works.
“The state of Fresno City College is bright and we know that working together we are building a better future,” Goldsmith said.
Retired FCC Sports Publicist Woody Wilk and Hunter Engineering Co. were the recipients of the school’s Ram Champion Awards.