Top administrators from Bakersfield College and Cal State Bakersfield were on hand to unveil the new CSUB Satellite Transfer Center May 4 in the Student Services Building.

“It’s about time,” said BC Public Information Director Don Clark.

The new center will have CSUB employees on hand in order to give immediate feedback to BC students about requirements for transferring. According to BC President Bill Andrews, the satellite transfer center is the first of its kind to be adopted by a CSU and community college.

“It’s a one of a kind in California,” Andrews said.

Andrews said that the idea is to get students into CSUB as soon as possible. With the new center, students can talk directly to counselors who will tell them exactly what they need to take in order to get into the school. This direct feedback will help keep students from taking classes they don’t need for transfering.

“Exposure is the thing that gets people interested,” said Dean of Learning Support Services Daryl Minus.

Minus said that BC wants to create as many pathways as possible for students transferring to four-year schools. The center will “give them (students) another option.”

Priscilla Long, a center employee, said that a CSUB representative would be on campus every day during school hours to help students with their transfer questions.

The Federal Title V Grant made funding for the center possible. The grant is given to Hispanic-serving institutions and is to be used for Hispanic students, African-American students, students who are first in their families to attend college and low-income students. However, the center is available to all BC students intending to transfer to CSUB.

Andrews, along with SGA President Jason Ellertson and CSUB President Dr. Horace Mitchell, were among the leaders who cut the ribbon for the ceremony on campus.

Jan St. Pierre from the Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce attended the ceremony to endorse the chamber’s support to CSUB and BC. “This is a wonderful opportunity for the students at BC,” St. Pierre said.