Mt. San Jacinto College


Mt. San Jacinto College is a public community college in Riverside County, California. It is part of the California Community College system and consists of five locations: San Jacinto, Menifee, Banning and Temecula. Classes are also held at numerous satellite locations, such as local high schools. Many courses are also offered online.

History

The Mt. San Jacinto Community College District was formed in 1962 by a vote of the citizens in Banning, Beaumont, Hemet and San Jacinto.
The college enrolled its first students in the fall of 1963, holding classes in rented facilities in the San Gorgonio Pass and San Jacinto Valley. The college's first president was Milo P. Johnson, whom the library on the San Jacinto Campus is currently named after. The San Jacinto Campus opened in 1965 with two buildings and has since grown into a larger, more comprehensive campus serving the local community. In 1975, the residents of Temecula, Lake Elsinore, Perris and adjacent areas voted to join the Mt. San Jacinto Community College District, increasing the college's area to the present 1,700 square miles. Although the boundaries have remained stable since 1975, the District has changed dramatically, especially since the 1980s. In recent years, unprecedented population growth has fostered the highest rate of enrollment increase of all 115 California community colleges.
In response to this intense growth, Mt. San Jacinto College opened its Menifee Valley Campus in October 1990. By the end of its first year, there were 2,100 students attending classes at the new campus. Today the campus serves more than 7,000 students each semester.
With the rapid growth in enrollment at both campuses, the District has engaged in extensive planning and development to ensure state-of-the-art learning environments for Mt. San Jacinto College students. The San Jacinto Campus has been master-planned and essentially will be rebuilt over the next 15 to 20 years to accommodate 12,000 to 15,000 students. In the fall of 1993, the Alice P. Cutting Business & Technology Center opened to students with new laboratories for Business, Computer Information Science, Engineering Technologies, Electronics and Photography. In the fall of 1995, a state-of-the-art music building opened on the San Jacinto Campus. The 1995-96 year saw a vast increase in classroom space on the Menifee Valley Campus with the opening of the Allied Health and Fine Arts buildings.
The master plan for the Menifee Valley Campus will ultimately provide for 15,000 to 20,000 students. A new learning resource center on this campus opened during the Spring 2006. The construction of two new childcare centers in 2002 paved the way for a major expansion of the Child Development and Teacher Training Center at MSJC.
On May 19, 2011, groundbreaking began for a new Social Sciences and Humanities building on the Menifee Valley Campus. The state approved funding for the project in 2008, but funding was delayed because of California's budget crisis. Funding was appropriated again in 2010 after the state was able to sell bonds. This new building will allow MSJC to move some classes that are currently held in aging portables into the new facility with state-of-the-art equipment. MVC Building I is expected to open its doors to students by Fall 2012.
In March 2018, Mt. San Jacinto College purchased two office buildings on property owned by Abbott Vascular for $56.5 million to open a larger, 350,000 square-foot campus in Temecula, located at 41888 Motor Car Parkway. The new campus is expected to open in the fall of 2020.

Police chief dismissals

The college police chief, Kevin Segawa, was arrested on December 2, 2009 and charged with eight felonies. He pleaded guilty to charges that included bribery, perjury and misappropriation of public funds related to his work at the college and dealings with a tow business owner. He pleaded guilty on June 23, 2010. Other charges stemmed from Segawa allegedly not filling complete arrest reports in two cases, one of which has resulted in a civil suit pending against the college.
The replacement for Segawa, John Ortega, began acting as chief on March 14, 2011. On December 15, 2011, Ortega was placed on paid leave for undisclosed reasons. On February 9, 2012 the MSJC Board of Trustees decided not to renew his contract. The college declined to comment on the dismissal, but the Greater Orange News Service reports that Ortega's dismissal may involve a sex scandal.
On February 2, 2013, a civil trial against the college began. Chris Kuhl is suing the college for wrongful termination. Three other officers initially joined in the suit against the college: Ron Navarreta, Scott Jensen, and Pedro Gonzalez. Gonzalez settled with the college, according to court records. The other plaintiff's suits were split into separate trials by a court order, and will begin at an unknown date.

Eminent domain claim

MSJC exerted the right of eminent domain to take 30 acres of land owned by Azusa Pacific University. MSJC put down nearly $1.8 million to compensate Azusa Pacific for the condemned land. Subsequent to receiving notice of eminent domain, but before MSJC took possession, Azusa Pacific constructed an educational facility. The university countered the eminent domain action by arguing that MSJC should pay the market value of the land in 2004 when MSJC took possession. This amount was considerably higher than the value of the land in 2000 when MSJC condemned it. The California Supreme Court unanimously decided in favor of MSJC, declaring that the $1.8 million was fair compensation for the land.

Student body

By Spring 2011, MSJC's student body totaled 16,200, which represented a 7% drop in enrollment. In the 2007-2008 academic year, the student population was 62% women and 38% men. For comparison, California community colleges statewide have an average student population of 55% women and 45% men.
The majority of students at MSJC are under 25 years old. From 2004 to 2009, the number of MSJC students under the age of 25 rose from 53% to 57%. In the same time period, the percentage of people in all other age ranges fell steadily. Overall, MSJC has a younger student body than other California community colleges, with 57% of students under 25 compared to 51% statewide.
In the 2008-09 school year, 1,117 MSJC students received associate's degrees or certification of some kind. The same year, 512 students transferred to a University of California or California State University campus. This represented an increase in the number of students transferring, but a disproportionate increase in total enrollment meant that a smaller percentage of students transferred than during the previous year.

Academics

Mt. San Jacinto College offers Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees in a variety of disciplines. It also offers coursework required to complete the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum. Many MSJC students choose to transfer to UC, CSU and out-of-state campuses after completing two years of study.

Honors Enrichment Program

MSJC's Honors Enrichment Program offers accelerated coursework for high-achieving students. The requirements for admission to the Honors Program include a minimum 3.3 GPA, 12 units completed, instructor recommendations and a letter to the Honors Program Advisory Committee. In order to complete the Honors Program, students must take four Honors classes, as well as an additional non-transferable Honors Seminar. Students often present research papers completed for this class at the Honors Transfer Council of California Student Research Conference. At the 9th annual HTCC Conference in 2009, MSJC had the largest number of students presenting papers of any community college in California. The Honors Program also offers Transfer Admission Priority certification to UCLA upon completion of the required classes. Students who graduate from this program routinely transfer to universities like UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Irvine, and UC San Diego.

Student groups

Cultural Activities

Art Gallery

MSJC's art gallery, located on the San Jacinto Campus, holds art exhibitions and shows films about art. It showcases work by students and local artists, as well as work by internationally recognized artists. The art gallery is a popular fixture on campus, receiving several hundred visitors every month. Past exhibitions have included works by artists such as Nicholas Spindler, Herbert Olds, and Chuck Huang. Film screenings are usually free and open to the general public.

Performing Arts

There are musical, theatrical, and dance performances on the Menifee Valley Campus and the San Jacinto Campus each semester. The performing arts departments publish brochures each academic year to inform students of upcoming productions.

World Cinema

World cinema screenings are held regularly at the Menifee Valley Campus. Films from around the world are shown at the Learning Resource Center. Films are selected with emphasis on the languages that are taught at MSJC, such as French and Spanish. In previous semesters, films such as Un coeur en hiver, Allá en el Rancho Grande, and Maria Full of Grace have been shown.

Honor Societies

Phi Theta Kappa

MSJC is home to the Beta Delta Omega chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society of two-year colleges. An invitation for membership in Phi Theta Kappa is extended to students who meet the requirements; however, students who have not been invited can still apply. Applicants must have a minimum 3.5 GPA and at least 12 semester units of coursework completed. Phi Theta Kappa members have access to a multitude of scholarships, the opportunity to wear PTK regalia at graduation, and the chance to be published in Nota Bene, Phi Theta Kappa's honors anthology.

Mu Alpha Theta

MSJC is also involved in Mu Alpha Theta, the United States mathematics honor society for high school and two-year college students.

Student Government Association

The Student Government Association is responsible for organizing college events and activities. Membership in the SGA allows MSJC students to vote in campus elections, hold office in student organizations, and participate in college activities. Discounts are offered on and off campus for students who hold current SGA stickers. Campus clubs are managed by the Inter-Club Council.

Athletics

MSJC's athletics program offers ten sports. Men's sports include football, baseball, basketball, golf, and tennis, while women's sports include softball, soccer, and volleyball along with basketball, golf, and tennis. The official colors of MSJC are black and red, and the school's mascot is the eagle. Sports teams are invariably known as MSJC Eagles. Unfortunately, the growth of MSJC's athletics program has been somewhat hampered by lack of facilities. To remedy this, the college intends to construct a new softball field at the Menifee campus and a new track at the San Jacinto campus sometime in the future.

Campus facilities

Learning Resource Center

MSJC has Learning Resource Center locations on both the San Jacinto Campus and the Menifee Campus. Both LRCs provide free tutoring for all MSJC students, regardless of academic discipline or skill level. Tutoring is provided on a walk-in basis. In addition, each campus has a Writing Center and a Math Center in the LRC to provide one-on-one support for students struggling in these areas. The MSJC Writing Center also provides workshops, handouts and guides, and online writing support. Tutoring at the LRC is performed by professional tutors, peer tutors, and faculty. The San Jacinto LRC alone assists over 4,000 students per year.

Supplemental Instruction

In addition to tutoring at the LRC, MSJC offers Supplemental Instruction for students in historically difficult courses. Supplemental Instruction Leaders provide free one-hour study sessions before or after class, giving students the tools to understand the information they have been given in class. SILs also attend classes to ensure that they are familiar with the material. All students in courses with assigned SILs are encouraged to attend SI meetings, although attendance is voluntary. Since its introduction in Fall 2006, MSJC's SI program at the Menifee Valley Campus has tallied 3,700 student contact hours.

Library

The San Jacinto Campus library is known as the Milo P. Johnson Library and is named after MSJC's founding president. The Menifee Valley Campus library is located on the second floor of the Learning Resource building. The libraries offer collections of materials in a variety of formats and boast one-on-one reference assistance, library instruction sessions, textbooks on reserve, and space for students to study. The libraries have ample online resources. Online access to e-books and multiple periodical databases such as EBSCOhost and ProQuest is available through the MSJC library website. This collection of online materials supplements the smaller range of print materials available at the Menifee Valley Campus library.

Child Development and Education Centers

The Child Development and Education Centers serve as the model lab/demonstration program for the Child Development and Education Department and related disciplines. College students perform observations and participate in on-the-job training as well as conduct student teaching in the centers.
At the Child Development and Education Centers, child care and education services are provided for young children from diverse backgrounds with differing abilities in a safe and welcoming setting. Responsive and professional teachers and caregivers build trusting relationships with the children and families. Children learn by doing in an environment that offers challenge and support.

Notable people

Faculty