For more than 60 years, the college has provided educational opportunity to those living in and around the East Bay Area.

Due to a lack of readily available funding from the state, the ability to provide such opportunity has become a struggle with every passing semester.

Time and time again college administrators have been forced to cut classes and departments in order to afford operating on a level that is still beneficial for students.

A more recent example took place in the fall semester of 2011 when the college’s Transfer Center was closed in order to save money.

During the three-year period of the center’s absence, those in need of transfer information were forced to go through the counseling department or thumb through pamphlets or catalogs.

Because guidance and direction were in such high demand, students would have to wait for weeks at a time, in some cases, just to get the chance to meet with a counselor.

The need for students to have access to timely information was not only apparent, it was blatantly hurting students’ ability to get the necessary resources to transfer, attain a certificate or graduate.

At the beginning of this semester, the campus finally received an adequate replacement for the missing center.

The Welcome/Transfer Center was installed inside the Student Services Center, room SSC-111, where the Dean of Students Office was once located.

The response to the center from the college community was immediate.

Julian Godinez, a part-time student worker in the Welcome/Transfer Center, said that the new facility stays consistently busy throughout the day, and that much is apparent to anyone walking through the SSC.

The new center is open Monday -Thursday from 8 a.m.–7 p.m., and Friday from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Students can inquire about things that anyone would normally need help with at a community college, such as registering for classes online or meeting with transfer representatives from four-year universities.

A space once rarely occupied by students is now a heavily used hub for obtaining useful and pertinent information about college life and transferring.

Part of the Contra Costa College mission statement reads: “The college equitably commits its resources using inclusive and integrated decision-making processes to foster a transformative educational experience and responsive student services that ensure institutional excellence and effective student learning.”

With the installation of the new Welcome/Transfer Center, the college is living up to its mission to provide easy access to resources and information for students who need it.