A summit focused on accelerated student completion will be held at the Bakersfield Marriott Convention Center on Nov. 15. The event will kick off at 8:30 a.m. and will run until 3 p.m., breaking down the intersegmental pathways toward efficient education for college students.

Bakersfield College students, faculty, staff, and president Sonya Christian will be in attendance.

The Intersegmental Pathways Symposium will feature 6 panels including leaders in statewide education and innovators focused on enhanced baccalaureate attainment rates. Keynote speakers will include Chancellor of California Community Colleges, Eloy Oakley, Senior Higher Education Policy Advisor to Governor Newsom, Dr. Lande Ajose, and California Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond. Chancellors, presidents, college faculty, and education practitioners alike will serve as panelists. The panelists will challenge the current education policies and evaluate the conditions for students looking to graduate in a timely manner.

In an interview with the Bakersfield Californian, Lesley Bonds, BC Director of Student Success and Equity, emphasized that students who transfer out of community colleges have a very high baccalaureate success rate.

Bonds said, “At most institutions, transfers complete at a higher rate and in a shorter amount of time than students who enroll at that CSU or UC as freshmen.”

She added, “In our research, we have found that transfer students at CSUB enjoy a 15 to 30 point advantage over first-time freshmen students in terms of graduation rates.”

Pathways from the K12 system toward community colleges and universities will be discussed, including enrollment and transfer plans toward an accelerated completion of higher education. Plans for California and Kern County education will be mapped out, as a higher rate of educated citizens is preferred. Baccalaureate advancement is priority toward a larger sum of educated California residents, as graduating can be a rigorous, time consuming journey.

Bakersfield College is at the forefront of Intersegmental education, and is well aware of the issues at hand. BC faculty and staff have taken leadership toward arranging pathways for student success.

Bonds said, “BC has a rich history of leadership statewide. In 2016, BC held a statewide summit on guided pathways for over 1,000 in person and virtual attendees. The summit launched the conversation and ultimately led to legislated funding to the tune of $150 million for all 115 California community colleges.”

The Intersegmental Pathways Symposium is another example of how BC is a major leader statewide, and an example of how our president, faculty, staff, and students are leading the conversation of baccalaureate education in California.

In order to attend the Intersegmental Pathways Symposium, one must purchase a ticket and reserve their seat, as there are limited seats available to listen in on the summit.