New at Clark College means new changes to campus, degrees

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On Sept. 26, Clark College opened the doors for its 2011-2012 academic year.

The college welcomed 15,310 students on opening day, a continuation of the historically-high enrollment the college has experienced since the 2008-2009 academic year.

Clark’s Running Start program welcomed 1,776 students, an increase of 100 students from fall 2010.

This year, under new legislation passed by the Washington State Legislature, there is a limit to the combined high school and college credits that the state will fund for each student. Clark College has the largest Running Start program in the state.

With the new year, projects are sprouting up on campus this year beginning with a Japanese Garden, which is being created near the music building on Clark’s main campus. The Royce Pollard Japanese Friendship Garden is a gift from Chihiro Kanagawa, CEO of Shin-Etsu Chemical Company, the parent company of SEH America. The garden will be dedicated during the college’s 2012 Sakura Festival on April 19, 2012.

During the summer, the college added 50 new parking spaces. Additionally, the college added parking stripes to its silver lot to maximize parking opportunities for students.

The Art Department and the Computer Graphics Technology Department have collaborated to create both new and updated degree programs in web and graphic design.



Degree options include the Associate of Fine Arts Degree in Graphic Design, which is an academic transfer degree; the Associates in Applied Technology degree in Web and Graphic Design; and the Web Design and Development Associate in Applied Technology (AAT) degree. Additionally, students may also choose to pursue graphic design or web design certificates of proficiency, at 68 and 66 credits, respectively.

This fall also marks the expansion of Clark’s mechatronics technology program at Clark College at Columbia Tech Center. This growing technical field of study deals with the integration of mechanical and electrical systems managed by control devices. Information about the program is available at www.clark.edu/cc/mechatronics.

Clark’s Associate of Science Degree in surveying and geomatics is now aligned to the four-year program at Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT), the only such four-year program in the Pacific Northwest.

Clark’s program provides skills for a variety of occupations related to land surveying and geographic information systems, or geomatics. The training utilizes precision electronic surveying instruments, including Global Positioning System equipment and sophisticated computerized drafting, mapping, design, and analysis software.

For more information on projects, degrees and more at Clark College, visit www.clark.edu.