Center offers academic guidance, tips

By Jaleel Perry, Advocate Staff

The former Welcome/Transfer Center at Contra Costa College is improving its services to help students accomplish their academic goals by splitting into two separate locations.

Due to the completion of the Campus Center and Classroom Project, the Transfer Center has relocated to the new Student and Administration Building.

The Career/Welcome Center will remain in the Student Services Center in Office 111.

CCC counselor and Transfer Center Coordinator Andrea Phillips said the new location of the Transfer Center (SA-227) has begun to do a great amount of good for students this year when it opened Monday.

“I feel strongly about what I do,” Phillips said.

“I want to help students take the right steps and transfer to the right four-year school for them.”

Phillips said, “I like to keep a clean environment for the students, make sure they know they have resources and that they can come to (SA-227) whenever they need help.”

The Transfer Center is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. It will be closed on Fridays.

The Welcome Center is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays.

The Career/Welcome Center and Transfer Center student workshops help students enroll into classes, schedule counseling appointments and meet with counselors as drop-ins as well.

There are usually at least three employees in both offices to provide assistance.

Both offices offer students access to computers and to employees who are there for assistance.

“The transferring process takes about (two to three years),” Phillips said. “We offer campuswide help to assist all students prepare for a four-year college.”

Aryianna Miller is one of many CCC students who visit the Welcome Center looking for help enrolling into classes.

This is Miller’s second year at CCC, and she said she goes to the Welcome Center often.

“I come here often when I need help because the employees are always helpful with whatever I need help with, even though they are really busy at times,” she said.

The Welcome Center provides assistance not limited to only CCC.

To make sure you get the class you want, you can enroll into classes at Diablo Valley College, or Los Medanos College at CCC’s Welcome Center.

Since the beginning of the fall semester, a lot of students will roll into the Career/Welcome Center asking questions.

Now they are able to also make use of the Transfer Center.

The Career/Welcome Center and Transfer Center also allows students to schedule appointments with four-year school representatives.

Both offices also offer drop-in counseling sessions for students that cannot schedule one, Phillips said.

The Transfer Day is an on campus event for students looking to gain information about which school interests them the most on Monday.

The Transfer Center is orchestrating five campus tours this fall for students, free of charge, Phillips said.