Crafton Hills College (CHC) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

Yucaipa, California Yucaipa ( Serrano: ''Yukaipa't'') is a city located east of San Bernardino, in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 51,367 at the 2010 census, up from 41,207 at the 2000 census. According to San Bernardino Coun ...

. CHC is part of the

California Community College The California Community Colleges is a postsecondary education system in the U.S. state of California.California Education CodSection 70900(added to the Education Code by Chapter 973 of the California Statutes of 1988Assembly Bill No. 1725 sectio ...

system. It offers associate degrees and career and technical certificates. Since its opening in 1972, more than 200,000 people have attended Crafton Hills and the college now serves approximately 6,500 students each semester with day, evening, and online classes.

History

On September 11, 1972, Crafton Hills College (CHC) welcomed its first students as the State’s newest publicly supported community college. Much of the college is built on Serrano land that Ruben and Lester Finkelstein donated through their foundation The Finkelstein Foundations. The original donation included 167 acres of land in 1966 with 76 more acres in 1970 and finally donating 251 acres of additional land. As the newer of the two colleges in the San Bernardino Community College District (SBCCD), CHC provided added capacity to serve Yucaipa and other east valley communities with high quality two-year college programs for transfer to four-year colleges and certificate programs for those eyeing jobs in certain workforce areas. Since its opening, CHC has enrolled 182,049 students and awarded approximately 16,466 degrees and 13,854 certificates (as of spring 2021). Its current enrollment is over 5,790 full-time equivalent students (at the most recent accreditation visit in 2020). CHC was first accredited by the Accreditation Commission of Community and Junior Colleges (a division of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges) in 1975 and has remained fully accredited ever since. Crafton Hills College (CHC) is one of 114 colleges in the California Community College system, the largest college system of higher education in the world.

Academics

CHC offers more than 50 majors in the liberal arts and sciences, vocations, and technical studies, and currently serves about 4,500 students. Students can receive multidisciplinary degrees, including Fine Arts, Health Sciences, Liberal Studies - Teacher Preparation, and Social Science, and the Fire Science and Emergency Medical Services-Paramedics programs are some of the finest community college programs in the state, with CHC the primary trainer for paramedics in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. CHC also has the distinction of being the top community college in the Inland Empire when it comes to degree/certificate completion rates and course retention/success rates. Crafton Hills College is accredited by the

Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) is an accrediting organization in the United States. It accredits private and public colleges that provide students two-year education programs and confer the associate deg ...

of the

Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was an organization providing accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, the territories of Guam, American Sam ...

, an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the

U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

. In addition, our Basic Firefighter Academy is accredited by

CAL FIRE The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) is the fire department of the California Natural Resources Agency in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for fire protection in various areas under state responsi ...

and the Office of the State Fire Marshall (OSFM), the EMT certificate is accredited locally by Inland Counties Emergency Medical Agency (ICEMA), the Paramedic program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), the Radiologic Technology program is accredited by the Joint Review Commission on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT), and the Respiratory Care program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC).

Student life

College clubs change on a yearly basis. Crafton Hills publishes an annual art and literature magazine, ''The Sand Canyon Review''. The College Honors Institute (CHI) provides graduates with priority admission and scholarship consideration at many public and private four-year institutions. Theater arts productions, art exhibits, social activities, interactive workshops, cultural events, and musical performances occur year-round.

Athletics

Crafton Hills College has men's and women's swim teams that began in Spring 2018 and men's and women's water polo teams that began in Fall 2019. Crafton created a men's & women's cross-country team in 2022. The Crafton Hills Aquatics Center features a 50 meter by 25 yards Olympic Swimming Pool kept at 80 degrees year-round.

References

External links