About

Cañada College opened in 1968. Its 131-acre site is located in the western part of Redwood City and overlooks the Bay. The College takes its name from Cañada Road, and the Spanish word “cañada” means a small canyon, glen or ravine. It is pronounced "cahn-YAH-duh". Cañada College is one of three community colleges in the San Mateo County Community College District and its primary service area is the southern portion of San Mateo County, Redwood City, Menlo Park, North Fair Oaks, Belle Haven, East Palo Alto, Atherton, Ladera, La Honda, Pescadero, Portola Valley, San Carlos, and Woodside.

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College Strategic Goals

  1. Student Access, Success and Completion: Cañada College ensures student access to relevant and transformative student services and instructional programs that are inclusive, diverse, equitable, and antiracist. As an institution, Cañada College contributes to the financial stability of students to empower them to pursue personal, academic, professional, and civic goals. Cañada continuously assesses processes and removes barriers to student access, success, and completion.
  2. Equity-Minded and Antiracist College Culture: Cañada College transforms its culture to be equity-minded and antiracist. Our teaching, learning, and services create a sense of belonging among all community members so they are able to recognize that their unique selves are valued, express themselves fully, and thrive. Our educational practices reflect the fundamental importance of individualized learning experiences, the shared building of knowledge, and promoting social justice at Cañada College.
  3. Community Connections: Cañada College establishes equity-minded partnerships with other educational institutions, employers, governments, and community-based organizations that result in seamless pathways for high school students transitioning to college, college students transitioning to university, and all community members pursuing career, and lifelong educational opportunities.
  4. Accessible Infrastructure and Innovation: College financial resources are well managed in support of the College’s values and to provide accessible physical and virtual spaces that promote continuous innovation and excellence in teaching and learning.  Cañada’s investments in physical, technological and transportation infrastructure create sustainable, equitable access to the College and support equitable educational outcomes across the diverse members of the community we serve.

Institutional Learning Outcomes

  1. Critical Thinking: Select, evaluate, and use information to investigate a point of view, support a conclusion, or engage in problem solving.
  2. Creativity: Produce, combine, or synthesize ideas in creative ways within or across disciplines.
  3. Communication: Use language to effectively convey an idea or a set of facts, including the accurate use of source material and evidence according to institutional and discipline standards.
  4. Community: Understand and interpret various points of view that emerge from a diverse world of peoples and cultures.
  5. Quantitative Reasoning: Represent complex data in various mathematical forms (e.g., equations, graphs, diagrams, tables, and words) and analyze these data to draw appropriate conclusions.

Role of the Faculty, Staff and Students

All members of the campus community are invited to participate in planning for the future and in developing policies, regulations, and recommendations under which the College is governed and administered (see California Education Code (70901(b)(1)(E)).  College Senates (Academic, Classified, and Student), Planning Councils, and Committees play unique roles in the participatory governance of the College. Each year, new and existing members of all participatory governance groups participate in an orientation. For more information, please see Cañada’s Participatory Governance Manual here: https://canadacollege.edu/pgm/.

Statement on Academic Freedom

The San Mateo County Community College District is dedicated to maintaining a climate of academic freedom encouraging the sharing and cultivation of a wide variety of viewpoints. Academic freedom expresses our belief in inquiry, informed debate and the search for truth; academic freedom is necessary in order to provide students with a variety of ideas, to encourage them to engage in critical thinking and to help them understand conflicting opinions. Academic freedom encompasses the freedom to study, teach, and express ideas, including unpopular or controversial ones, without censorship or political restraint.

Academic freedom, rather than being a license to do or say whatever one wishes, requires professional competence, open inquiry and rigorous attention to the pursuit of truth.

The District’s faculty have the right to express their informed opinions which relate, directly or indirectly, to their professional activities, whether these opinions are expressed in the classroom, elsewhere on campus or at college-related functions. In a search for truth and in a context of reasoned academic debate, students also have the right to express their opinions and to question those presented by others.

Employment by the District does not in any way restrict or limit the First Amendment rights enjoyed by faculty as members of their communities. Faculty members are free to speak and write publicly on any issue, as long as they do not indicate they are speaking for the institution.

Protecting academic freedom is the responsibility of the college community. Therefore, in a climate of openness and mutual respect, free from distortion and doctrinal obligation, the District protects and encourages the exchange of ideas, including unpopular ones, which are presented in a spirit of free and open dialogue and constructive debate.