Lake Tahoe Community College is a growing and dynamic community college in the midst of South Lake Tahoe, California. Lake Tahoe’s waters and surrounding forests are a national treasure, and LTCC’s campus exemplifies the region’s natural splendour. LTCC is Northern California’s highest elevation college, at 6,229 feet above sea level. This vibrant and welcoming college community serves students from the bi-state, multi-jurisdictional Tahoe watershed area, as well as students from nearby Nevada cities, other states, and countries across the world.
Life at Tahoe
Outdoor recreation is an important part of the culture and economics of South Lake Tahoe, which has a year-round population of around 24,000 people. State, national, and international visitors flock to the area for world-class winter skiing and boarding, summer mountain biking, hiking, camping, water activities, and fishing, as well as concerts, athletic events, and entertainment. Three of Lake Tahoe’s 14 ski resorts are only a few minutes away for students. Every year, the sun shines for an average of 249 days, providing many opportunities for students to get out and experience the Sierras.
The Lake Tahoe Basin is a unique topographical, political, and economic region that spans two states, five counties, and several cities and municipalities. Lake Tahoe is a congressionally designated Regional Development Area for land use and planning and is known as the “jewel” of the Sierras. The Regional Plan, which was last updated in December 2012, focuses on a shared commitment to Lake Tahoe and long-term community sustainability.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
LTCC has a diverse student body, which is one of our greatest assets. LTCC attempts to speak out against racism and racial violence on campus and in the community, as well as to address microaggressions. LTCC is aiming to include anti-racism into curricula, particularly in public safety programmes. LTCC is working to improve its presentation of coursework that educates the next generation of public safety officers, assisting them in understanding historical racism and implicit bias, the benefits of diversity and inclusion, and the importance of developing close relationships with all members of the communities they will one day swear to serve and protect.
LTCC is a Hispanic Serving Institution, with over 25% Latina/o/x/Hispanic students and works to expand educational options and improve academic success for Latinx/Hispanic students. Our extensive curriculum and student services reflect LTCC’s dedication to diversity and equity-minded ideas. By meeting the needs of each student, we are devoted to educational equity.
College’s Promise
The Lake Tahoe College Promise programme at LTCC is one of the most extensive in the state, offering free tuition for up to three years to first-time, full-time college students. It also offers a variety of support programmes and events tailored specifically for Promise students. The programme is open to all California citizens and Dreamers, as well as Nevada residents and Dreamers, of any age who live in the Tahoe Basin. The only bi-state Promise programme in the country is at LTCC.
Academic programs and opportunities
The success and stability of LTCC are built on a dedication to student success and ongoing attempts to provide academic programmes that are relevant to our region’s particular geography, ecology, and history. LTCC offers associate degrees, associate degrees for transfer that allow students to transfer seamlessly to four-year universities, certificates of success, and employable skills certificates to help students prepare for work and professional prospects.
Students who want to transfer to a four-year university have a lot of choices because LTCC offers the first two years of a four-year university degree. The Lisa Maloff University Center, located on the LTCC campus, offers a variety of advanced degree programmes through our university centre partners. These partners provide affordable liberal studies, applied studies, hotel business management, a master’s in education, and multi-discipline teaching certifications that can be earned on LTCC’s South Shore campus. LMUC offers a few scholarships to help students transition into these higher degree programmes.
Career and technical education
LTCC has extended its career and technical education options, as well as unique summer programmes, in addition to providing high-quality programmes for conventional students. Approximately 500 students from across the United States attend the Intensive Spanish Summer Institute (ISSI) for a one-week immersion programme in Spanish language and culture. The nationally certified Lake Tahoe Basin Fire Academy at LTCC trains students for California Firefighter I certification. A new CTE programme in Forestry will begin in the fall of 2022, offering stackable certificates and an AA degree that will lead to direct employment with the US Forest Service and CAL FIRE.
The Lake Tahoe Basin Public Safety Training Center, which would provide educational and training space for the Lake Tahoe Basin Fire Academy, the new Forestry programme launching in Fall 2022, and several other related CTE programmes, as well as the space to provide ongoing education to working firefighting professionals from around the state, is currently seeking funding.
Maintaining full accreditation
LTCC is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges’ Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), a regional accrediting organisation recognised by the Council for Higher Education and the United States Department of Education. As a result of a comprehensive examination, LTCC’s accreditation was reaffirmed for a seven-year period in January 2018. The ACCJC completely accepted the College’s Midterm Report in January 2022.
In January 1979, LTCC was granted accreditation for the first time. Since then, accreditation status has been successfully maintained through a regular self-evaluation and review procedure. Full credit for equivalent and transferable courses satisfactorily completed at LTCC is given by the University of California, the California State Institutions, and other approved colleges and universities.