Photo Courtesy of Southwestern College
Gateway to the Future—Southwestern College students walk between classes while new plans are being developed.
Southwestern College, and all four of its campuses, are in the middle of a facelift.
Southwestern College recently published the Facilities Vision Plan 2035, an ambitious blueprint that establishes a bold vision for everything from transportation, student services, and recreational areas in the Chula Vista campus.
Expansions are also planned for the institution’s other locations, including the remodeling of the main building at the National City campus, renovations to the existing nursing facility at the Otay campus, an expansion of student parking, and a redesign of the entrance at the San Ysidro campus, among other improvements.
Between February and March of 2024, students had the opportunity to share their opinions about their schools; the vision plan shows that people from each of the four campuses received online surveys asking what they liked most about their campus, 82% of the 1711 collected responses were from students.
School administrations also launched forums to gather student input.
Students used words including: “clean”, “diverse”, “welcoming” and “fresh” to describe the Chula Vista campus in their direct survey responses.
We conducted a similar survey to compare the responses from our current students from the ones back in 2024. Chula Vista campus students were asked what word they would use to describe the campus; the majority agreed on adjectives such as “clean” and “organized.”
The vision for the Chula Vista campus includes a transit area within the parking lot, a new Studio Arts building, a new main entrance dubbed, the “Gateway”, two new instructional complexes, and an athletic center.
This project’s main goal is to make it easier for students to access services.
“I love the fact that we are designing a building that is going to be more conducive just through the access,” Southwestern College President Mark Sanchez said in an interview.
Sanchez said that this project entails a series of structural changes, but beyond the physical facilities of the campus, the project aims to innovate the curriculum and implement new tools to equip students for the workforce, while removing courses that are no longer relevant in this modern era. A time when technology and artificial intelligence are replacing many professions that were once essential.
“We’ve done a lot of work with intentionality to do that” Sanchez said, “I am very proud of not only our brand new beautiful facilities but all of the programming that’s in these new buildings to serve students and create those pathways”.
“Gateway” aims to create a student services building at the campus entrance, housing Human Resources, the bookstore, Financial Services, and professional development programs.
According to the college president, the initiative is currently the initial pre-construction phase that includes meetings with the architects and executives; while there is no exact construction date yet, an estimated start date is expected by early 2027.
President Sanchez noted that, as of 2023, international student fees for residents of Tijuana have been eliminated. Furthermore, thanks to initiatives approved in recent years, the average border-crossing time for students living in Tijuana has dropped from two hours to just 10-15 minutes.
“Everything we do is with students in mind, and trying to create access and ease for students to get their degrees, certificates and credentials they need to be successful and complete the goals they have set for themselves.”
