Our College

Solano Community College is a tradition in Solano County. Established in 1945 as Vallejo Junior College, Solano was part of the Vallejo Unified School District until 1967 when the College became a countywide institution. The 192-acre campus, centrally located just off Interstate 80, was completed in 1971 and opened with 5,000 students. Since then, facilities, programs, staff and services have expanded to meet the growing needs of a growing county.

Solano College is part of California’s public community college system of 116 campuses in 72 districts across the state. The College’s service area encompasses the communities of Benicia, Dixon, Fairfield, Suisun, Vacaville, Vallejo and Winters, as well as Travis Air Force Base. Many graduates of the area’s fifteen public high schools and three private schools take advantage of the educational opportunities offered by Solano Community College.

Solano’s classes are held during two semesters each year (Spring and Fall), plus Summer sessions. Flexible scheduling, designed for students’ convenience, includes day, evening and Saturday classes, held on and off the campus, and via the Internet, television, home study and travel study. Short-term classes, open-entry/open-exit formats, and special interest workshops and seminars add to this scheduling flexibility.

With the current student population of 9,500 almost evenly divided between day and evening, the Solano College campus is alive at all hours offering academic study and occupational training to all area residents.

Leader in Transfers, Cutting-Edge Career Education

Accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) of  the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, SMC has been the No. 1 transfer college to University of California campuses for 32 consecutive years, and is consistently also tops in transferring African American and Latin students to the UC. In addition, the college is the leading transfer college to USC, Loyola Marymount University, and is the top feeder west of the Mississippi to the Ivy League Columbia University.

For decades, SMC has also been a leader in career education. As the leading job trainer in Los Angeles’s Westside—a hub for many cutting-edge industries including entertainment, tech, and biotechnology—the college offers robust career education opportunities, with over 110 degrees and certificates in fields from the traditional (Business, Nursing, Journalism, Film, etc.) to the cutting-edge (Sustainable Technologies, Cloud Computing, a Bachelor of Science degree in Interaction Design, and more), developed in collaboration with and informed by industry experts. Many of SMC’s career education programs rival those offered at four-year colleges—for instance, the college’s award-winning film program consistently wins prestigious national/international awards and are invited to internationally-renowned festivals such as the American Pavilion at Cannes.

In addition, SMC provides lifelong learning through distinctive programs such as its Emeritus Program for older adults.

Serving Our Community (& the World) With Arts & Culture

SMC brings the best of public radio to Southern California through the award-winning college station KCRW(opens in new window) (89.9 FM), and the college’s Performing Arts campus houses the Broad Stage at the SMC Performing Arts Center, one of the region’s premier performing arts venues where the college’s students also have the opportunity to perform and learn from certain world-class artistes. The college is a robust hub of cultural and recreational offerings for its community, and those who live around it, offering a wide range of programming each academic year at low or no cost, from plays and art shows to concerts, planetarium shows, and free lectures by guest speakers.

Serving our Students

The culture of equity-driven care and support for students extends beyond the classroom at Santa Monica College—with one of the most intensive counseling and student support networks to be found at a community college, SMC’s holistic approach encompasses serving students’ basic needs through an on-campus store that provides free food/groceries and caring for their physical and mental health through trained professionals. 

President Superintendent at SCC

Santa Monica College is seeking an equity-driven, innovative, and experienced leader to serve as its Vice President of Academic Affairs. Under the direction of the Superintendent/President, the Vice President of Academic Affairs serves as SMC’s Chief Instructional Officer and provides visionary leadership and oversight for the College’s broad array of instructional program and services. The Vice President of Academic Affairs leads a team of Deans, Associate Deans, Directors, and Project Managers to employ collaborative, participatory governance for all instruction and academic support programs and supports efforts to reduce racial equity gaps and foster a diverse, equitable and inclusive learning and work environment. This position has primary administrative responsibility for academic policy, accreditation, curriculum and program development, class scheduling and related enrollment management strategies, program review, assessment of learning outcomes to support continuous program improvement, and excellence in teaching and learning. Instruction at Santa Monica College is offered via both classroom-based and online delivery modes. Instruction includes major preparation and general education requirements for associate degrees, transfer to four-year institutions, as well as career education programs leading to certificates and degrees, noncredit offerings in ESL, short term vocational and workforce preparations areas, programming for older adults (Emeritus Program), not-for-credit Community Education, and Workforce and Economic Development Contract Education offerings.

The Vice President serves as a member of the Superintendent/President’s senior administrative staff, provides leadership in developing college/district policy, and ensures that the college/district adheres to applicable federal, state and regional laws and regulations. Among the ideal qualities SMC is looking for in a Vice President of Academic Affairs are the following: knowledge of and ability to provide leadership for a comprehensive community college; passion to lead in difficult times; visionary and strategic leadership in changing landscapes; an ability to build strong coalitions and relationships with community partners; someone who values diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility; demonstrates collaborative and strong student-centered leadership; exhibits personal/professional ethics and integrity and effectively motivates others. 

Thank you for your interest in Solano Community College.

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