Santa Monica High School Grads Can Get Free Enrollment At SMC

SANTA MONICA, CA – Santa Monica College is offering free enrollment and $400 vouchers for textbooks to new, full-time students who graduated from a local or participating high school this year. The program, called “Santa Monica College Promise," is effective immediately for students interested in attending SMC this fall semester, which begins August 26, or in spring 2019, according to a SMC press release.

To be eligible for the program, students must have just graduated from high school in 2018, and be headed straight to SMC as first-year students. They must also be “full-time”— enrolled in 12 units or more per semester — to be eligible for free enrollment and to have payment of their Associated Students fees (which gives students access to benefits ranging from student discounts at select vendors to free “Any Line, Any Time” passes for the Big Blue Bus), health, and student ID fees covered by the college, the press release said.

Students who enroll in SMC Promise are textbook vouchers – $200 for the fall semester and $200 for spring – to help offset the high cost of textbooks, according to SMC. These vouchers will be available to those who receive the California College Promise Grant, which waives enrollment fees for eligible students.

SMC Promise students will also be enrolled in the First Year Experience program which provides priority registration and dedicated counseling support to help ease the transition to college and ensure students are on the fastest track possible to their four-year school or career of choice, the press release said. Students will be required to meet with a counselor at least twice every semester.

Educational research indicates that students who attend school full-time, even just for one semester, are much more likely to earn a degree or certification compared to those that attend part-time, said Dr. Jennifer Merlic, SMC Dean of Instruction.

“An overwhelming majority of SMC students, and in community colleges nationwide, attend college part-time, because often they are working to support themselves and/or their families financially,” Dr. Merlic said. “So, at Santa Monica College, we are looking at how we may help more students achieve their academic aspirations. We encourage students to attend full-time if at all possible, and will offer them extra support along the way, because their success is our end goal.”

A recent report released by the Center for Community College Student Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin analyzed transcript data of 17,085 students from 28 community colleges, and found that those who went full-time for even one semester had an edge over their counterparts who attended part-time. Thirty-four percent of students who attended college full-time even for a while earned an associate degree or a certificate, compared to only 23 percent who enrolled part-time throughout their time at a community college.

The list of eligible and participating high schools for SMC Promise:

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD)

• Malibu High School
• Olympic Continuation High School
• Santa Monica High School

Santa Monica District Private Schools

• Crossroads School
• New Roads School
• Pacifica Christian High School
• Saint Monica Catholic High School

Beverly Hills Unified School District (BBUSD)

• Beverly Hills High School
• Moreno Continuation High School

Culver City Unified School District (CCUSD)

• Culver City High School
• Culver Park High School
• CCUSD iAcademy

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) - Local District West

• Academy of Science & Engineering
• Alexander Hamilton High School
• Alliance Health Services Academy
• Alliance Ouchi High School
• Alliance Renee & Meyer Luskin Academy High School
• Ambassador School of Global Leadership
• Animo S. Los Angeles Charter High School
• Animo Venice Charter High School
• Apex Academy High School
• Bright Star Secondary Academy
• Cheviot Hills High School
• Crenshaw Arts/Tech Charter High School
• Crenshaw High School
• Critical Design and Gaming School
• Fairfax High School
• George Washington Prep High School
• Helen Bernstein High School
• Hollywood High School
• Hollywood Media Arts Academy
• L.A. Center Enriched Studies
• Larchmont Charter School
• Los Angeles High School Of The Arts
• Los Angeles Senior High School
• Los Angeles Technology Center
• Magnolia Science Academy 4 School
• Math and Science College Preparatory
• New Open World Academy
• New West Charter School
• Palisades Charter High School
• Phoenix Continuation High School
• Phoenix High School
• Richard A. Alonzo Community Day School
• RISE at Augustus Hawkins High School
• Soledad Enrichment Action Charter School
• STEM Academy of Hollywood

• Susan Miller Dorsey Senior High School
• Temescal Canyon Continuation
• UCLA Community School
• University High School
• Venice Community Adult School
• Venice High School

• Venice Skills Center
• View Park High School
• View Park Prep High School
• Walt Whitman High School
• Westchester High School

For more information on SMC Promise, please contact SMC's Welcome Center at 310-434-8101 or WelcomeCenter@smc.edu. Detailed information on eligibility and the application process is also available at www.smc.edu/freetuition.

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