College of the Sequoias (COS) is a public two-year community college in Visalia, California. The college is named for the Giant Sequoia trees native to the nearby Sierra Nevada mountain range.

College of the Sequoias
MottoThe first step to success
TypePublic Junior College
Established1926 (1926)
PresidentBrent Calvin
Location, ,
36°19′26″N 119°18′55″W / 36.3238°N 119.3152°W / 36.3238; -119.3152
Colors   Orange and Blue
MascotGiants
Websitewww.cos.edu

History

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College of the Sequoias was originally established in 1926 as Visalia Junior College as a department in the city high school. Its mission at that time was to provide inexpensive, lower-division college education to local high school graduates who intended to transfer to a traditional four-year college.[1] Visalia Junior College was later expanded and a campus was built in 1938. The campus was built on what is still the college grounds. In 1949, it expanded further and formed the College of the Sequoias Community College District.

Campus and centers

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College of the Sequoias' main campus is in Visalia, but it also has full-service centers in Hanford and Tulare.

Each location offers the full-range of general education offerings and students services, but each also features a flagship program. The Visalia main campus is the home of Nursing and Allied Health, the Hanford Center (opened in 2010) is the home of the Public Safety Academy, and the Tulare College Center (opened in 2012) is the home of Agriculture.

COS offers classes at many other locations. These include: Corcoran, Dinuba, Exeter, Farmersville, Hanford, Ivanhoe, Lemoore, Lindsay, Orosi, Porterville, Strathmore, Three Rivers, Tulare, and Woodlake.

Academics

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The current enrollment of COS is 11,141 students,[2] and the college offers a variety of transfer, vocational, and community-based classes, including the fire/police academies for Tulare and Kings counties. College of the Sequoias is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC).[3]

Student life

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Athletics

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The college athletics teams are nicknamed the Giants, and COS sponsors 14 teams which participate in the Central Valley Conference.[4]

Notable alumni

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References

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  1. ^ "About C.O.S." Archived from the original on 2007-07-30. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
  2. ^ "California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office". Data Mart.
  3. ^ "Accreditation". College of the Sequoias Accreditation. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
    "Seven Years ACCJC Reaffirmation!" (PDF). College of the Sequoias Accreditation. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
    Western Association of Schools and Colleges (February 7, 2014). "WASC letter to COS president" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 24, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  4. ^ "College of the Sequoias". College of the Sequoias. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  5. ^ New York Times, April 25, 2018
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