College Without Walls Program
Colegio Cesar Chavez operated under the "El Colegio Sin Paredes" ("The College Without Walls") model. This model granted students the ability to actively engage with their community, to maintain control of their own education, and to combine their classroom studies with experience outside of the classroom.
The College Without Walls Program had been established by the Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities. This format allowed for the inclusion of a wide range of age groups, encouraged the participation and collaboration of students, staff, and administrators in creating and implementing the curriculum. Alternative means of evaluation was also encouraged. In this program, instructors were redefined as facilitators in the learning process. Additionally, Colegio staff, administration, and students relations were structured in accordance to a framework that Colegio termed "La Familia," meaning "The Family". To that end, the "family" members were encouraged to participate in the decisions affecting the college. Such a framework inevitably required for students to be self-motivated and to initiate and pursue an independent course of education.
Colegio's core educational foundation consisted of work in four areas: Social Science (Anthropology, Economics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology); the Humanities (Literature, History, Arts, Philosophy, Language); Natural Sciences and Mathematics; oral and written bilingual Communications. Each student was required to complete fifteen credit hours in each area, totaling 60 credit hours. Credit transfers from parallel areas was allowed. Students could also receive credit for prior learning.
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