History
The establishment of a college for the Coalinga Union High School District was proposed in the spring of 1932. The official beginning of the Coalinga Extension Center of Fresno State College dates from October 3, 1932. In September 1941, Coalinga Junior College became an independent unit under the direction of the Governing Board of the Coalinga Union High School District. Construction of a new campus on Cherry Lane near the northern limit of the City of Coalinga was begun on October 3, 1955 and the buildings were occupied on September 13, 1956.
In November of 1961, the voters of Coalinga Union High School District approved the formation of a separate junior college district and in June of 1962, the voters of Lemoore High School District voted to annex to the college district, as did voters of Riverdale and Tranquility High School Districts in December of 1962. Effective July 1, 1969, the official name of the college was changed to West Hills College in keeping with the nature of the expanded district.
In order to effectively serve the college district, West Hills College built the North District Center in the city of Firebaugh in 1971. In 1979 the District purchased land in the City of Lemoore and in 1981 a classroom building and an office were erected. This was the Kings County Center until January 2002. On September 26, 2000, the Board of Trustees signed and accepted the “Agreement of Donation of Land for the West Hills College Lemoore” a generous donation from Robert and Mardell Pedersen and Lionel and Lola Semas. The land given in this donation was developed into the current site of West Hills College Lemoore since January 2002.
Accreditation
West Hills College Lemoore received its initial accreditation in 2006 by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. West Hills College Lemoore’s accredited status was reaffirmed by the Commission in June 2017. The Accrediting Commission is an institutional accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The Commission’s address is 10 Commercial Boulevard, Suite 204, Novato, California, 94949. The Commission’s telephone number is 415-506-0234. E-mail: accjc@accjc.org
Mission Statement
West Hills College Lemoore serves a diverse community of students who seek an affordable, accessible, relevant, and rigorous education. The college community is dedicated to student learning and achievement by providing quality courses that lead to certificates, associate degrees, transfer, and career pathways.
Vision Statement
West Hills College Lemoore is committed to the relentless pursuit of student success.
Institutional Student Learning Outcomes (ISLOs)
West Hills College Lemoore identifies the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes that students should master as a result of their overall college experience.
Communication Competency
- Develops and presents cogent, coherent and substantially error-free writing for communication to general and specialized audiences.
- Demonstrates effective interactive communication through discussion, i.e., by listening actively and responding constructively and through structured oral presentations to general and specialized audiences.
- Negotiates with peers an action plan for a practical task and communicates the results of the negotiation either orally or in writing.
Analytical Inquiry
- Identifies and frames a problem or question in selected areas of study and distinguishes among elements of ideas, concepts, theories or practical approaches to the problem or question.
Information Competency
- Identifies, categorizes, evaluates and cites multiple information resources so as to create projects, papers or performances in either a specialized field of study or with respect to a general theme within the arts and sciences.
Quantitative Reasoning
- Presents accurate interpretations of quantitative information on political, economic, health-related or technological topics and explains how both calculations and symbolic operations are used in those offerings.
- Creates and explains graphs or other visual depictions of trends, relationships or changes in status.
Ethical Reasoning
- Describes the ethical issues present in prominent problems in politics, economics, health care, technology or the arts and shows how ethical principles or frameworks help to inform decision making with respect to such problems.
Ability to Engage Diverse Perspectives
- Students will be able to describe how knowledge from different cultural perspectives might affect interpretations of prominent problems in politics, society, the arts and global relations.
- Describes, explains and evaluates the sources of his/her own perspective on selected issues in culture, society, politics, the arts or global relations and compares that perspective with other views.
Personal, Academic, and Career Development
- Assesses personal knowledge, skills, and abilities; sets personal, educational, and career goals; works independently and in group settings; and identifies lifestyle choices that promote self-reliance, financial literacy, and physical, mental and social health.
Academic Freedom
The West Hills Community College District is committed to the principles of academic freedom as core values that underlie teaching, scholarship, creative activity, and service to the public, our community, and the larger scholarly community. The principles of academic freedom are part of the broader protections of freedom of expression, guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Academic freedom is essential to these purposes and applies both to teaching and research.
Freedom in research is fundamental to the advancement of truth. Academic freedom in its teaching aspect is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the teacher to teach and of the student in the freedom to learn. Academic freedom carries with it duties correlative with rights.
The right to exercise any liberty implies a duty to use it responsibly. As a right, it guarantees the instructor freedom to express and explore diverse and competing viewpoints, interpret personal findings, and communicate the conclusions without being subjected to interference, molestation, or penalty because the conclusions are at variance with those of other persons. As a responsibility, it carries the obligation to study, to investigate, to present, to discuss, and to interpret, fairly and objectively, facts and ideas related to the instructor’s assignments and to avoid teaching material which has no relation to the subject or is inconsistent with course objectives.
When faculty speak or write as citizens they should be free from institutional censorship or discipline, but their special position in the community imposes special obligations. As scholars and educational officers, they should remember that the public may judge their profession and their institution by their utterances. Hence, they should at all times abide by standards of professional ethics, be accurate, should exercise appropriate restraint, should show respect for the opinion of others, and avoid creating the impression of speaking or acting for the district.
The West Hills Community College District seeks to develop in its students a sense of thoughtful independence. To do so, students and faculty must be free within the classroom and through scholarly research, creative activity, and community service to explore the widest possible range of viewpoints. The District specifically endorses the following portion of the American Council on Education’s Statement on Academic Rights and Responsibilities:
“The validity of academic ideas, theories, arguments and views should be measured against the intellectual standards of relevant academic and professional disciplines. Application of these intellectual standards does not mean that all ideas have equal merit. The responsibility to judge the merit of competing academic ideas rests with colleges and universities and is determined by reference to the standards of the academic profession.”
The West Hills Community College District considers academic freedom defined by its attendant rights and responsibilities as a vital, primary force in the achievement of the goals and objectives of our colleges and the communities we serve.
Compliance Statement
West Hills College Lemoore does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation), handicap (or disability), or age in any of its policies, procedures, educational programs, activities or practices, in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 pertaining to race, color, and national origin and Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681 et seq (Title IX) and its implementing regulations, 34 C.F.R. Part 106.; Section 504 of the American Disabilities Act of 1990 pertaining to handicap; and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (pertaining to age).
This nondiscrimination policy covers admission and access to, and treatment and employment in, the College’s programs and activities, including vocational education.
The lack of English language skills will not be a barrier to admission and participation in the college’s vocational education programs. West Hills College Lemoore recognizes its obligation to provide overall program accessibility throughout the college for handicapped persons.
Inquiries regarding Federal laws and regulations concerning nondiscrimination in education or the District’s compliance with those provisions may also be directed to: Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, Old Federal Building, 50 United Nations Plaza, Room 239, San Francisco, California 94102.
The coordinator for Title IX, Section 504/ADA is Ken Stoppenbrink, Vice Chancellor of Business Services/Human Resources. Inquiries regarding the equal opportunity policies, the filing of grievances or grievance procedures covering discrimination complaints may be directed to: Ken Stoppenbrink, Vice Chancellor, Business Services/Human Resources, West Hills College District, 9800 Cody Street, Coalinga, CA 93210, (559) 934-2160.
Inquiries regarding Federal laws and regulations concerning nondiscrimination in education or the District’s compliance with those provisions may also be directed to: Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, 50 Beale Street, Suite 7200, San Francisco, California 94105, 415.486.5555 – OR THE: Department of Fair Employment & Housing, 1900 Mariposa Mall, Suite 130, Fresno, CA, 93721.
West Hills College is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Declaracion de Cumplimiento
West Hills College no discrimina por razón de raza, color, origen nacional, sexo (incluyendo el acoso sexual), handicap (o discapacidad) o de edad en cualquiera de sus políticas, procedimientos, programas educativos, actividades o prácticas, en cumplimiento del título VI de la ley de derechos civiles de 1964 relativas a raza, color, origen nacional y Título IX de las enmiendas educativas de 1972 , 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681 et seq. (Título IX) y su normativa de desarrollo, 34 C.F.R. parte 106.; Sección 504 de la American Disabilities Act de 1990 referente a discapacidad; y la ley de discriminación de edad de 1975 (edad).
Esta política de no discriminación incluye admisión y acceso a y tratamiento y el empleo en programas y actividades, incluyendo la educación vocacional de la Universidad.
La falta de conocimientos del idioma inglés no será una barrera para la admisión y participación en programas de educación vocacional de la Universidad. Universidad del oeste de colinas reconoce su obligación de proporcionar la total accesibilidad del programa a través de la Universidad para personas con discapacidad.
Preguntas con respecto a las leyes federales y reglamentos relativos a la no discriminación en la educación o cumplimiento del distrito las disposiciones también deben dirigirse a: Oficina para los derechos civiles, Departamento de Educación de Estados Unidos, Old Federal Building, 50 Naciones Unidas Plaza, Room 239, San Francisco, California 94102.
El Coordinador de Título IX, sección 504/ADA es Ken Stoppenbrink, Vice Canciller de negocios servicios y recursos humanos. Las consultas sobre las políticas de igualdad de oportunidades, la presentación de reclamaciones o procedimientos para quejas sobre quejas de discriminación puede ser dirigida a: Ken Stoppenbrink, Vice Canciller, negocios servicios y recursos humanos, Distrito Universidad West Hills, 9800 Cody Street, Coalinga, CA 93210, (559) 934-2160.
Preguntas con respecto a las leyes federales y reglamentos relativos a la no discriminación en la educación o cumplimiento del distrito las disposiciones también deben dirigirse a: Oficina de derechos civiles, Departamento de educación, 50 Beale Street, Suite 7200, San Francisco, California 94105, (415) 486-5555-OR el: Departamento de Feria de empleo y vivienda, 1900 Mariposa Mall, Suite 130, Fresno, CA, 93721.
Universidad del oeste de colinas es un empleador de igualdad de oportunidades.