We take our mission statement seriously at UNM-Valencia. The mission of our campus is “to provide community residents with lifelong educational opportunities in order to better pre-pare them to actively participate in the world as productive, responsible, and creative individuals.”

Having taught and been an administrator in colleges for more than 37 years, I am proud to say that I have never experienced faculty and staff more dedicated to a mission statement and to student success than those working at the UNM-Valencia Campus. Learning here is personal. When you couple that with faculty and staff who are helpful and friendly, then you have a learning atmosphere where dreams can start. We have story and after story on this campus of students who started their dreams here.

When you come to UNM-Valencia Campus, you become a member of our college family. That’s because we are committed to our core values, another important component of our mission statement. Our first value is that we are student-centered, and we connect that value with the others: quality instruction and services; being responsive to change; embracing di-versity; empowering the individual; and being committed to accessibility.

Now that we are starting our 2008 academic year, UNM-Valencia Campus is celebrating having two Century Scholars, a mark of academic excellence in the community college system. We have developed a com-prehensive TRiO program, as well as learning communities for develop-mental students, that help grow dreams. We have implemented a strong dual enrollment program with the area high schools, and we have seen our headcount surpass 2,000 for the first time in the history of the campus.

We have seen our college grow from a few makeshift classrooms in a shopping center with a population of 300, to a permanent campus in 1986, to our current state-of-the-art campus. Valencia Campus now serves thousands of students a year in college transfer and technical programs, adult basic education classes, job training, and a wide range of commu-nity and cultural activities for kids, seniors, and everyone in between.

More than 2,300 dreams have been realized as we have graduated over 2,300 students from UNM-Valencia since its inception, in certificate and degree programs that have led to successful careers in teaching, public service, business, computer-aided drafting, and medical fields.

We offer high-quality instruction programs at very low costs. We are designed to give our students the intellectual tools and the skills needed to succeed in the highly competitive workforce of the 21st Century. Our students range from those beginning their college careers right out of high school, to those returning to upgrade their skills or launch a new career, to community members wanting to enrich their lives by taking leisure courses or attending cultural events. UNM-Valencia welcomes all of you!

If you have any questions about our college, please contact us at 925-8560, or visit our website at vc.unm.edu.

We look forward to seeing you, and remember: Dreams Start Here!