Each Metro Academy (Metro) reconfigures the first two years of college to create a ‘school within a school’ for up to 140 students. A cohort of students co-enrolls in two linked general education classes each semester over four semesters. Outreach focuses on high schools and youth agencies that serve students who are first-generation, low-income and/or underrepresented. A community college or university can host any number of Metro Academies, each with a broad career or topic theme, e.g. Health, Science, Ethnic Studies, Child Development, Liberal and Creative Arts, Computer Science and Engineering.
Everything Counts: A Universal General Education Pathway
Every Metro pathway class – regardless of whether it is taken at the community college or university – fulfills general education requirements that count for graduation with both an associate’s and a bachelor’s degree – for all 289 majors in the Cal State University (CSU) system. At the community college, Metro is a general education transfer program leading to guaranteed admission to the CSU. Instead of ‘wandering through the curriculum,’ Metro students have a clear fast track to graduation.