It may surprise many to learn that Diablo Valley College has the highest transfer rate to four-year institutions among California community colleges, sending over a third of its more than 20,000 students annually to university.
But at the same time, and perhaps equally surprising, students here say they’re having greater difficulties than expected in finding counseling.
“There are too many kids and not enough counselors,” said Maya Quiroz-Recoder, a DVC student representative for Puente, a learning group for Latino students.
The school, which boasts a 34 percent transfer rate, has about 100 faculty members in its counseling program, split across the DVC Pleasant Hill and San Ramon campuses. With thousands of students vying for those counselors’ time, some of them have expressed dissatisfaction with getting assistance.
“It feels like more recently, access to counseling appointments has reduced,” said Edison Zhu, a 20-year-old environmental engineering student.
Zhu said he met with a counselor three times during his first year at DVC. But as he gets closer to his goal of transferring to UC Davis, he has had trouble finding counseling appointments.
“There are usually too few appointments available when trying to make one,” Zhu said.
“The last time I remember trying to [book an appointment], I was trying to ask about dropping a class, but the website just kept telling me no available appointments and gave no indication when there would be an opening.”
However, he added, “I try to avoid drop-ins, as I’ve heard horror stories from fellow students waiting hours only to get 15 minutes with the counselor.”
Zhu suggested that the school implement a new online sign-up interface that is more transparent and easier to use to address students’ counseling needs.
But not everyone has felt a shortage of appointments. Students who seem to be least affected by the limited number of counseling slots available include those enrolled in one or more of DVC’s learning community programs.
Learning community programs are club-like groups that students sign up for each semester, such as Umoja, Puente, AANHPI, PACE, Community of Pride, FYE, and Tembo, each including and led by one or more counselors specific to the needs of that community.
As a result, personalized and dedicated counselors within each program help promote better counseling access for student members.
When asked how often she contacts a counselor, 18-year-old psychology major Sarita Davalos replied, “Every day.”
“It’s really easy,” said Davalos, who is also a part of Puente. “We’re able to have one-on-one meetings with [counselors] whenever we want. If we need to talk to someone, they’re always available.”
Davalos added that she was even able to text her Puente counselor outside of school hours for additional support.
But for students who aren’t part of a learning community, it may help knowing that DVC is #1 in transfers to four-year institutions within the California Community Colleges system. It’s a testament to the fact that counseling might not be as essential as some think — because those who came before proved it.
Course transfer requirements “aren’t set in stone, so requirements from the previous year could be different from the current year,” said Zhu, who urged students to check the site Assist.org for the most up-to-date information.
“I know some classmates who didn’t know about this resource, but they should, because it’s really important,” he said.