Santa Monica College's Malibu Campus Is Open: 5 Things To Know

MALIBU, CA — Now that Santa Monica College's Malibu Campus has been up and running for about a month, the institution's leaders are making the rounds across the community to network with residents and spread the word about the college's offerings.

Alice Meyering, associate dean of the campus, delivered a presentation at the Malibu City Council meeting Monday, where she shared some facts about the campus.

Here's some essential information about Malibu's newest community institution:

The campus is already popular

The SMC outpost began welcoming students for the spring semester on February 13 and currently has 450 people enrolled across four different educational models.

It's not just for traditional students

While 70 percent of the campus' students are traditional ones, who graduated high school within the last five years, SMC leaders are making sure there's something for everyone in Malibu.

In addition to credit-bearing courses, the Malibu campus offers noncredit classes for career advancement and emeritus enrichment classes for older adults.

There's diversity in the most popular classes

Given the high proportion of traditional students, Meyering said general education requirements like elementary statistics and reading composition are among the most popular courses.

But electives and enrichment classes are also popular, including general psychology, film appreciation and both beginners and intermediate salsa dance.

It's all in-person

All of the courses offered at the Malibu campus are in person, and Meyering said that means there's a robust on-the-ground presence of dedicated staffers at the building.

Angela Bice is an administrative assistant who works closely with Meyering.

Media resources assistant Carla Brown works to troubleshoot classroom equipment, manage digital information and maintain the campus' website.

Student services specialist Janet Kleinman works with people through the registration process and designs surveys to gauge student interest.

Sergio Velez is the dedicated campus security officers and Robert Escobar is the building's custodian.

Community building is crucial

Meyering said the campus is about so much more than just a place to take classes.

"Santa Monica College hopes to add more to the Malibu community," she said. "Our hope is with a little more time, we will be able to provide meaningful public programming that everyone can enjoy and appreciate."

Meyering and her team have been busy forging partnerships with local nonprofits, public schools, Pepperdine University, businesses and the Malibu Library.

An open house at the campus will be held April 22 from 12:30-2:30 p.m., 23555 Civic Center Way.

The building will also host the Malibu State of the City address on May 3.