Calbright is a free online community college, but on-the-ground outreach and engagement with partners and prospective adult learners helps bring the College directly to those we serve. Calbright was pleased and honored to be part of the 10th annual Feria de Educación on Oct. 1, hosted by Sacramento State University, Univision, and the California State University system.
“This is a wonderful event which provides a culturally sensitive environment for Spanish-speaking parents and bi-lingual families to bridge the cultural gap between Spanish-speakers and California’s educational system,” said Raul Sarabia, Calbright’s Regional Outreach Coordinator.
While Calbright is an online community college for all Californians, it is designed for the needs of non-traditional students. Instead of traditional degree programs, we provide valuable workforce focused certificates for students to enter upwardly mobile and growing sectors, like IT Support and Salesforce Administration, with job openings here in California. Instead of a traditional classroom environment, we use the Competency-Based Education (CBE) model, which focuses entirely on what students know rather than on how much time they spend in a classroom. Students can take the time they need to master new skills, and also quickly move through material they have previous experience with. It’s an unusual learning model—especially when it’s offered for free to Californians—that it often requires extra explaining. But we find that when people understand how we’re reimagining college, that they want to be a part of it.
“By being there to talk with people and answer questions, Calbright was able to provide information and resources on our programs and services, garnering interest in our CBE model of educational delivery,” Raul said. “It was an honor to participate in fostering a college-going culture among the Latino/x/e community, and we look forward to doing it again next year!”
