One of the largest barriers for young adults in the South Valley seeking higher education is transportation. Students in communities such as Lemoore, Lindsay, Porterville, and Woodlake travel over an hour one-way to take classes at Fresno State.

The Fresno State Visalia Campus is now offering the Integrated Teacher Education Program (ITEP). This program prepares students to become elementary school teachers in their hometowns.

In the new ITEP program, future teachers in the South Valley will complete their first two years of college work in a carefully aligned program at one of three partnered community colleges: College of the Sequoias, Porterville College, and West Hills College – Lemoore.

Students then transfer to Fresno State and complete their remaining coursework in an accelerated two-year program at the Fresno State Visalia Campus.

Students are able to earn a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies and a multiple subject teaching credential in only four years without having to leave the South Valley. This program addresses a critical need for well-qualified, highly-committed teachers for learners in schools in the South Valley.

"Geographically it is a huge benefit for our students," said Stan Carrizosa, past president of the College of the Sequoias. "If we can get higher education closer to our students and take out the transportation barrier, we would have more students accessing higher ed.”

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