DVC's faculty is dedicated to meeting the educational needs of its community

DVC's faculty is dedicated to meeting the educational needs of its community, in accordance with the purposes and regulations that appear in the Education Code of California.

The following statements summarize faculty beliefs and concepts about the purpose of this college:

We believe that one of our leadership responsibilities is to identify the educational needs of our community. Our students come to us with a variety of aspirations, interests, and abilities, and each brings to DVC a certain level of maturity and preparation. We recognize that the student must decide which educational program to pursue, but we also feel obliged to help each student make realistic choices and to develop the skills and proficiencies appropriate to college work.

We believe that a good education is fundamental to the democratic processes. Therefore, we value the unique contributions of each student and we believe all of DVC’s educational programs are of equal importance. We conceive the heart of the school to be the student and the student to be the whole human being — the sum of his/her feelings, beliefs, thoughts, and attitudes, as well as his/her physical, emotional, and intellectual needs. Hence, we encourage self-reliance, self-direction, intelligent use of the elements of our broad cultural heritage, and a genuine and critical quest for truth.

We believe that to teach is to help people grow in many different ways, and that learning is an active, lifelong process of thinking, feeling, and doing. We believe that an excellent college education motivates students to learn well and gives students the ability to transfer and derive meaning from their learning. Therefore, we strive for a balance between specialization and generalization when organizing and presenting subject matter.

Finally, we believe that close student-faculty relationships both contribute to learning and make the educational process more enjoyable.