Allan Hancock College recently announced plans to relocate its Solvang Center from Alisal Road in the Solvang Village Center to Santa Ynez Valley Union High School in an effort to increase its presence and offer more classes and services to residents in the Santa Ynez Valley.
The relocated and thusly retitled Santa Ynez Valley Center will open Aug. 14, one week before fall classes begin. The Solvang Center, which opened in 2000, will remain open through Aug. 5.
“The move strengthens our commitment to provide quality educational opportunities to the Santa Ynez Valley,” Hancock Superintendent and President Kevin G. Walthers said in a press release.
The Santa Ynez Valley Center will be located on the west side of the high school, and it will feature two classrooms, a computer lab, and two offices. Hancock students, instructors, and staff will be required to display parking permits in their vehicles while at the center. The permits will be distributed to students the first day of class at no charge, but they will only be valid at the center for one semester and not at the college’s other locations.
In addition to a full-time student services technician at the center, an academic counselor will be available to meet with high school students and community members.
“High school students and community members can register for classes, apply for financial aid, and map out their student education plan at the center,” Hancock’s Associate Superintendent and Vice President Nohemy Ornelas said in the release. “It will be a one-stop center for everyone, adults and high school students, in the valley.”
Hancock College has offered classes to the Santa Ynez Valley for years, including a variety of concurrent enrollment classes at the high school, allowing students to earn high school and college credit by completing courses during normal school hours. Scott Cory, superintendent of Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District, said in the release that Hancock staff will be relocating to the high school campus, which will provide significant help for students in the areas of registration and academic counseling.
“With the college having access to our facilities,” Cory said in the release, “everyone in the valley will benefit because more courses will be offered for residents that otherwise would not be available to them.”
Hancock College plans to hold an open house at the Santa Ynez Valley Center in the fall. For more information about the center or classes, call 922-6966, Ext. 3350.
