By Tyler Chapman

By Tyler Chapman

Riverside City College’s Career and Transfer Center helps students get the job done.

According to a California State University, Sacramento study just one in four Californian community college students finishes with a degree, and the students that do earn degrees spend on average more than two years at community college.

This trend results from the fact that community college students fail to take the proper courses at the community college level.

By taking the wrong courses and not fulfilling transfer requirements, students become frustrated and give up on their education.

That is where the Career and Transfer Center comes in.

Tucked away in the depths of the Cesar E. Chavez Admissions and Counseling building is a hidden pot of gold for those students that want to transfer to a four year University.

Full of resources that include college catalogs, online databases and the insight and advice of a counselor.

The Career and Transfer Center can answer any question a student may have about their future.

Databases like the ASSIST program are designed to help students find out which RCC courses they need to take for their major, based on the requirements of the university they plan on transferring to.

“Our job here is to bridge the gap between students and universities by answering student questions and providing them with the information they need,” said Educational Advisor Jaime Rodriguez. “I think it’s important for students to come here, we provide a lot of vital information that will definitely help.”

More than just bridging the gap, the Career and Transfer Center puts students face to face with representatives from major universities through various transfer fairs scheduled throughout the year.

The next transfer fair hosted by the Career and Transfer Center has been scheduled for April 21.

“There are going to be a lot of college representatives present at the next fair,” Andrews said. “We have reservations for representatives from local colleges and the UC Cal State systems.”

The Career and Transfer Center does not just provide students with information regarding transferring but also with information regarding careers.

Educational Advisors working at the center urge students to take advantage of the information regarding career choices and job outlook.

“A lot of students tend to limit their career options,” Rodriguez said. “Students can come into the center and learn about careers that they never thought about before.”

On the database at Eureka.org, students can search majors and see institutions that offer programs in that field of study while at the same time viewing certain careers pertaining to a certain field of study. “Eureka is my baby,” Andrews said. “It is the best online resource we have in the center.”

With a resource like the Career and Transfer Center it is a wonder why the majority of community college students still fail to earn degrees.

Most students simply fail to take advantage of these resources simply because they do not know enough about them.

“We need to do a better job of informing the students about resources on campus like the Transfer Center,” Rodriguez said. “We would definitely like to see more students come into the center.”

The location of the Career and Transfer Center is not exactly ideal.

Students tend not to think twice about the little cave tucked inside the Cesar E. Chaves Admissions and Counseling building. “We would love to get a better location,” Andrews said. “Students don’t even know we are back here half the time.”

While the majority of students aimlessly wander the corridors of college education blindly, some students actually do take advantage of the center. “First of all it has a lot of information about jobs, and I use it to find out what jobs are right for me,” Iryna Matnenko said.

Karen Kalkat uses the center to access information on financial aid and various schools.

“I visit usually every few weeks to find information on something that I could not find out at home,” Kalkat said. “It would definitely be beneficial for students to use the center.”

The Career and Transfer Center is also available online, so if a student can’t stop in and use the resources first hand they can access some of the databases available in center at home over the Web.