LBCC has announced its plans to rename the Pacific Coast Campus, seeking input from students, staff and faculty in the form of a survey.
The email, titled “Your Opinion Matters” includes a link to a 10 question survey for students, administration and faculty to fill out.
Destiny Gonzaga, a first year student and administrative assistant major, filled out the survey, and noted that despite being entirely enrolled at PCC, did not know the campus existed until she visited LBCC’s Liberal Arts Campus and found her major classes were not offered there.
Gonzaga believes changing the name of PCC to include a campus identifier to more accurately reflect the courses offered there, as well as more advertisement of the difference in campus focus, would have helped her more easily discover PCC.
Jenni Lopez, a first year student at PCC, did not know about the survey sent out to students. But said she was curious to know what the campus’ new name would be.
“I think it would make it easier for students to know exactly what they offer here (at PCC),” Lopez said.
Those interested in completing the survey have until Oct. 9 to submit their opinion.
LBCC hired marketing firm GradComm, who will create a report of survey participants’ familiarity and perception of PCC. The results of the survey will be used to suggest marketing strategies for the campus alongside a new campus identifier.
Questions are aimed at faculty, students and administration, asking to rate their familiarity with the Pacific Coast Campus, as well as to give three words or phrases that they think of when it comes to the campus.
The survey asks participants to rate “keywords” on a scale of 1 to 5 based on how “appealing and informative” the terms are, which will then be used to generate name suggestions that survey results will present to the administration.
Participants in the survey have the option to enter a raffle for a chance to win one of five $100 Visa gift cards.
Alicia Kirkwood, PCC’s associate vice president, will be the one to spearhead this change.
Kirkwood hopes that switching from a location based name to a campus “identifier” that will accurately reflect the offerings at LBCC’s secondary campus will not only help students easily navigate enrollment, but also create a more cohesive sense of identity to the campus.
“We want our name to signify the programs and offerings here,” Kirkwood said.
“We just feel we can do a better job marketing this campus to students.”
The LBCC Pacific Coast Campus was originally the home of Hamilton Middle School, but was converted to the Business and Technology Division in 1949 after the college was advised to create a technical campus alongside their continuing education program.
Since then, PCC has become a source of contention for students and faculty alike, with the college struggling to establish their secondary campus on equal footing with the Liberal Arts Campus.
Kirkwood said the struggle began in 1964, when many of PCC’s programs like culinary arts and electrical engineering moved to LAC.
“The 60’s were known as a ‘boom to bust’ period, we had record enrollment, but in ‘64 the college changed to a one campus model and a lot of our programs moved to LAC,” Kirkwood said.
In recent years, LBCC has attempted to backtrack on this move, with efforts to increase enrollment and course offerings at PCC to match those at LAC.
The idea for a new campus name marks a turning point in PCC’s history of neglect.
“The stigma (around vocational and continuing education programs) is always tricky,” Kirkland said. “But we know that 66% of our enrollment was in CTE or continuing education. Our job is to provide them with the classes they need.”
“We’re looking to prepare students for a job that they can succeed in,” said Kirkland.
As the Vice President of PCC, Kirkland said she felt it was her job to dispel the myth that PCC is not as strong a campus as LAC.
“My first question to people who have negative thoughts on PCC is, have you spent time here?” Kirkwood said.
Kirkwood also said she wanted everyone to participate in the survey, because every opinion will help LBCC better understand how to market to their community.