By Khalida Sarwari
Good news out of West Valley College for local high school students, including those in Los Gatos and Saratoga: students graduating this spring are eligible for free tuition at the college.
The grant, which is estimated at around $300,000 or a little more than $500 per student, is a way for the college to give back to the community, said West Valley College president Brad Davis.
“The college is experiencing really unprecedented financial vitality and we were looking for ways to support our community that has worked hard to support us,” he said.
Funding for this initiative is expected to come from a newly developed community grant created to help students get started on their goal to eventually transfer to a four-year university, earn a college degree or even obtain a vocational certificate. The grant was procured by the West Valley-Mission Community College District’s Land Corporation, an entity that generates revenue from real estate holdings that the district has in Santa Clara County and functions as a quasi foundation for the district, according to Davis.
The perk doesn’t come without some contingencies: Students must sign up for at least 12 units, and they must reside within the college’s service area, which includes all public, private and home school programs. The schools within this area are those from the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District and the Campbell Union High School District, including Boynton, Branham, Del Mar, Leigh, Los Gatos, Prospect, Saratoga, Valor and Westmont.
For now, the college is offering free tuition only for the fall 2016 semester and it’s available to the first 600 eligible students. In future years, the college may expand the program to more students, said Davis.
“We endeavor to expand it to more students and to also have it apply to both semesters,” he said, “but since this is the first attempt we are going to limit it to 600.”
For complete details and to access the online application form, visitwestvalley.edu/community-grant. The deadline to apply is May 1.
Link: Local high school grads eligible for free tuition at West Valley College
