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The Tagalog Language Website Ensures Critical Information about Financial Aid, Career Education, Associate Degree for Transfer, and More is Accessible to Californians
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — To strengthen engagement with California’s Filipino community, the California Community Colleges ICanGoToCollege.com (I Can) awareness and outreach campaign has officially launched its full website in Tagalog. The expansion of language offerings aims to better support students and encourage prospective student enrollment, reflecting the California Community Colleges commitment to openness and access.
The new language option provides current and prospective students and their families with a one-stop-shop for important in-language information, including the availability of career education programs, guaranteed transfer to four-year universities, bachelor’s degree programs, financial aid, and support services for food, housing, childcare, mental health, and much more. The website also offers information on dual enrollment, a program that provides high school and adult students with the opportunity to take college courses to earn credit toward their high school diploma, or GED, and their college degree at the same time. To access the Tagalog option, visitors can use the dropdown menu in the top left-hand side of the I Can homepage.
“As a proud member of the Filipina/o/x community, I’m both proud and inspired by the California Community Colleges’ vision, which begins and ends with equity and access. Launching this new website in Tagalog is one more way we’re opening doors, so all Californians have the opportunity to engage fully with our colleges and participate. This intentional step aligns with Vision 2030, our strategic plan, to remove barriers to education and unlock opportunities,” said California Community Colleges Deputy Chancellor Rowena Tomaneng.
California is currently home to more than 7.3 million Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islanders (AANHPHIs)—and that number is on the rise. Within California’s AANHPI community, Filipinos are the second largest group, and Tagalog is one of the most commonly spoken languages, making it important to support this populous community in a culturally responsive way.
Community college is an affordable and accessible way for Californians to attain a high-quality higher education. Studies show that the average community college graduate with an associate degree will see an increase in earnings of $11,300 annually, or roughly $486,00 of a working lifetime when compared to a person with only a high school diploma or equivalent. And many California community college graduates continue their higher education journey and transfer to a four-year university. In fact, 29% of University of California graduates and 51% of California State University graduates started at a California community college.
Best of all, for many California students, community college can be completed at no cost, providing a solid foundation that can support them wherever they want to go—whether that be a four-year college or university, into a new career via career education, technical training for career advancement or more.
The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office appreciates and celebrates the diversity and contributions of the multicultural communities that make up our great state. It remains committed to ensuring students from all backgrounds are supported to reach their goals, enabling them to improve their lives, and the lives of those around them. Providing culturally responsive resources like the Tagalog I Can website helps achieve this vision and ensures students have equitable access to higher education. With the addition of Tagalog, I Can now provides six language offerings including Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and English. Learn more about California community colleges and explore the new Tagalog-language website by visiting ICanGoToCollege.com and clicking the tab at the top left.