Columbia College Hollywood has become an affiliate with ASU to further their impact and continue educating students in the liberal arts.
CCH is a private college in Los Angeles with degree programs in cinema, graphic design, visual effects and recording arts. The college has an undergraduate enrollment of 760 as of fall 2020.
The college "educates students in the art and science of communications and the diverse media of contemporary storytelling within an exploration of the liberal arts,” the CCH website reads.
In November, the WASC Senior College and University Commission, which accredits CCH, approved its proposal to become a private, independent and nonprofit affiliate of ASU.
As a result, CCH will undergo a name change to become the California College of ASU while having operations at the ASU California Center in downtown Los Angeles.
Dean Battinto Batts of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication announced the partnership in an email in early December 2022.
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“CCH will work with ASU to expand their impact through outreach to prospective students who would find value in their programs,” Batts said in the email.
After struggling to stay afloat after the COVID-19 pandemic, this affiliation was developed to assist the college in continuing its mission and education while expanding it to students at ASU.
Katie Paquet, an ASU spokesperson said in an email, “Dealing with steep drops in enrollment, CCH contemplated the decision to either close or collaborate with an institution to continue to serve current and future students. They opted for the latter and sought an affiliation with ASU given our unique and growing presence in California."
CCH began operations in the ASU California Center this past summer, which gave CCH students the opportunity to enroll in ASU courses.
The affiliation will especially complement ASU programs, like the Cronkite School, the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, the Thunderbird School of Global Management and the Sidney Poitier New American Film School, Batts said.
Paquet and Batts said the partnership will help CCH embrace its "current emphasis on storytelling and filmmaking to collaborate closely ... to provide students access to Poitier faculty, curriculum, degrees and program."
“Under this affiliation, CCH will continue to be overseen by an independent Board of Trustees, offer their own unique degree programs and will utilize services provided by ASU, including marketing and outreach to prospective students who would find value in their programs,” Paquet said.
Edited by Sadie Buggle, Jasmine Kabiri and Anusha Natarajan.
Reach the reporter at mtvega1@asu.edu and follow @madivega18 on Twitter.
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