Mission & Philosophy

Mission

The mission of Cerro Coso Community College is to provide outstanding educational programs and services tailored to the students in the communities and rural areas we serve. We demonstrate a conscious effort to produce and support student success and achievement through traditional and distance delivery.

To accomplish this mission we will provide:

• transfer and career technical education
• remedial instruction
• comprehensive support services
• learning opportunities that develop ethical and effective citizenry
• continuing education that is compatible with the institutions primary mission

Vision

Cerro Coso Community College will be recognized as a leader in higher education, a source of programs and services for tomorrow's workforce, a model for student learning, and a partner with its diverse clientele and communities.

Values

At Cerro Coso Community College, we value:

Student learning and student success in all areas of endeavor;

Creativity and the implementation of best practices in a rapidly changing world;

Accountability to our students for their learning experience, our communities for good stewardship of public funds, and to each other through the participatory governance process;

Diversity in our students, our communities, our environment and our programs and services;

Our Communities and the partnerships and relationships we build with them; and

Our Faculty and Staff who turn the wheels of learning.

Service Philosophy

The Cerro Coso Community College Strategic Plan for 2012-2015 focuses on five strategic goals. These goals are:

1. Foster student success through sustained continual quality improvement of instruction and student services.
2. Provide a quality learning environment which enhances student engagement.
3. Improve our response to community needs through transfer programs, area workforce development, quality student services, and provision of customized educational opportunities.
4. Operate at the level of continual quality improvement for strengthening institutional effectiveness.
5. Increase the percentage of total resources allocated toward the successful achievement of student learning.

General Education Philosophy

The awarding of an Associate Degree at Cerro Coso Community College is intended to represent more than an accumulation of units. It is intended to lead students through patterns of learning experiences designed to develop certain capabilities and insights. Among these are the ability to think and to communicate clearly and effectively both orally and in writing, to use mathematics, to understand the modes of inquiry of the major disciplines, to be aware of other cultures and times, to achieve insights gained through experience in thinking about ethical problems, and to develop the capacity for self-understanding.

Central to an Associate Degree, General Education reflects the conviction of Cerro Coso Community College that those who receive their degrees share certain basic principles, concepts, and methodologies both unique to and shared by the various disciplines. College-educated persons must be able to use this knowledge when evaluating and appreciating the physical environment, the culture, and the society in which they live. General Education should lead to better self-understanding and involve students in actively examining values inherent in proposed solutions to major social problems.