West Hills College earns awards and raves for marketing efforts

WHCCD won gold in one of the prestigious campaign categories for marketing and design support for the district's innovative Reg365 program. Reg365 is a unique advance registration system that lets students sign up for more than one semester at a time. West Hills College officials worked on the process for a year before unveiling it in 2014. This year, the State of California selected the groundbreaking program for one of only 14 Awards for Innovation in Higher Education. The designation came with a $2.5 million prize, with funds earmarked for further innovations designed to improve student retention and degree completion.

“We are very proud of everyone who contributed to the success of our marketing efforts, and all of our colleagues whose dedicated work provides us with great stories to tell about the role our colleges play in the lives of our students and communities,” said Dr. Frank Gornick, WHCCD Chancellor. “We’re gratified that our new registration system, Reg365, continues to be recognized around the state and the nation as an example of what can happen when our faculty and staff put student success in the forefront of their efforts.”

Two silver awards went to our college for graphic design marketing materials and for outstanding feature writing in West Hills Magazine, which is produced by the district twice a year. The story was about a couple that met and fell in love while enrolled in the rigorous two-year nursing training program at the college, written by Amy Seed Kessler, formerly of Coalinga.

The magazine also received a bronze award for another feature story that appeared in a second issue of the publication, which highlighted the three members of the West Hills College Lemoore soccer team who won national recognition for academic and athletic excellence. That story was written by Jamie Applegate, a member of the WHCCD marketing staff.

Two other bronze awards were for outstanding graphic design and for Dennis Gallegos’ dynamic close-up photo of the soccer team in action.

The district marketing office has won 11 awards for excellence in 2015, including five others from the statewide organization, the Community College Public Relations Organization.