What’s on the ballot: Pasadena City College Board of Trustees

Share: This voter guide covers both the Pasadena area and Pasadena City College Board of Trustee elections in partnership with The PCC Courier and LAist. For coverage of L.A. County, California, and federal races that might be on your ballot, head to LAist’s Voter Game Plan. To find out what will be on your ballot, head to the L.A. County interactive sample ballot website.  In the March 2024 primaries several local leaders and new candidates are campaigning and spreading the word about what they bring …

What’s on the ballot: Pasadena City Council

Share: This voter guide covers both the Pasadena area and Pasadena City College Board of Trustee elections in partnership with The PCC Courier and LAist. For coverage of L.A. County, California, and federal races that might be on your ballot, head to LAist’s Voter Game Plan. To find out what will be on your ballot, head to the L.A. County interactive sample ballot website.  In the March 2024 primaries several local leaders and new candidates are campaigning and spreading the word about what they bring …

What’s on the ballot: Pasadena Mayor

Share: This voter guide covers both the Pasadena area and Pasadena City College Board of Trustee elections in partnership with The PCC Courier and LAist. For coverage of L.A. County, California, and federal races that might be on your ballot, head to LAist’s Voter Game Plan. To find out what will be on your ballot, head to the L.A. County interactive sample ballot website.  In the March 2024 primaries several local leaders and new candidates are campaigning and spreading the word about what they bring …

FAFSA Simplification Act aims to make financial aid more accessible

Share: As one of the nation’s premiere transfer schools-Pasadena City College and its students are majorly impacted by changes to the FAFSA applications in the 2024-25 FAFSA cycle-such as increases in federal grants and a streamline of the application process. The FAFSA Simplification Act was originally passed by Congress in 2020 with the goal of overhauling and simplifying the student financial aid process.  This act changes the method of measuring a family’s ability to pay for college; the previous Expected Family Contribution (EFC) method has …

4-year universities and community colleges swap degree programs

Share: Amid transfer season, higher education alternatives are beginning to materialize for students who struggle with paying high tuition. While community colleges typically offer associate’s degrees and four-year universities with bachelor’s degrees, the opposite may soon be true. In other states, four-year universities such as Butler University in Indianapolis and the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis have either implemented or are preparing to implement new, two-year colleges after Chicago’s Loyola University started the model in 2015. The effort comes in response to rising college …

Faculty Association survives ouster from state union

Share: In the second decertification attempt in a year, the Pasadena City College Faculty Association (PCCFA) won a majority over the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) to remain as the on-campus faculty union representative.  The vote to remain with the FA was at approximately 52%, according to Political Science Professor and PCCFA Director Marcus Green. Just above the 50% needed to remain as the on-campus faculty representative. The CFT does not plan to contest the vote at this time or challenge the results.  “I’m hoping …

New community college diversity rules sparks political fire

Share: As of mid-October, California Community Colleges are instructed to implement diversity, equity, and accessibility (DEIA) policies that were first introduced in 2020, though professors across California are pointing to how their free speech may be impeded by the implementation of these policies in their tenured reviews.    Several California community college professors recently filed lawsuits against local leaders in response to their districts’ implementation of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) on campus. California community college districts had until Oct. 13 to incorporate the rules …

Students appreciate extra sick days provided by new state law

Share: In the latest blitz of legislative action in the state, Governor Gavin Newsom signed on Oct. 4, 2023 a California Senate Bill that increased the number of  sick days per year from three to five.     Students at Pasadena City College welcome the new changes with relief and appreciation.  Renzo Palomino is a freshman biology major at PCC, complemented on the new law not for himself, but for his mother who works as a dental assistant and FedEx employee.   “She thinks that law will benefit …