The Fullerton Cosmetology program is an outstanding program. It has a 96 percent passing rate, instructors with many years of experience, and is less expensive than other cosmetology programs. Because of Fullerton’s reputation, salons seek recommendations for student graduates for employment opportunities.
Another positive aspect about the program is that it is a Pivot Point member school. Pivot Point International is a company that distributes the curriculum, which emphasizes the Pivot Point way of teaching with step-by-step advanced techniques. The program is designed to prepare students to take the State Board Cosmetology Exam to become a licensed cosmetologist.
For students to be eligible to take the state board exam, the state requires a completion of department and state mandated coursework along with a minimum of 1600 hours of clocked-in training.
There is a multitude of services and operations with a respective number of hours that need to be completed for each service and/or operation. Disinfection and sanitation requires 20 hours, hair coloring and bleaching requires 40 hours and haircutting requires 120 hours.
The units completed in the program also count toward an Associate of Science degree, which helps the students if they decide to continue their education.
The program is equivalent to a full-time job, and full-time students take up to a year to graduate. They attend school Monday through Friday from 7 a.m to 4:30 p.m. The evening class is for part-time students, which takes two years to complete, and they attend school Monday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Approximately 75 students start the program each semester, with students graduating every eight weeks.
A former student, Uilses Zelaya said, “I had heard about the hair services through another student and decided to come in again because of the quality hair cut for a lower price.”
The perception of the cosmetology program can be seen by some as very marginal, but there is a lot more to cosmetology than just cutting hair.
It includes many components such as, anatomy and physiology, electricity, chemistry, nail diseases and disorders, skin diseases and disorders, layers of the hair and facials.
Celia Assef, who is a coordinator and teaches levels four and five, has been in the business for 35 years. She has taught for 25 years and has been with FC for 13 years.
“It is a life changing vocation,” Assef said. “The best part of my job is the success of my students when I see them go to state board and they pass. It means the world to me because I know that I’ve done something right, and I can’t attribute everything to me; it’s a correlation of all the teachers together.”
Many students may not be aware of the services the cosmetology program provides. They offer hair services, which include shampoo, blow dry, hair cuts, styling, perms, color design, as well as nail services, facials, waxing and make-up.
All of the services are open to the public and performed by students in levels three to five. Every service is checked by an instructor once completed. Fullerton College students with a current ID and an associated students benefits sticker receive 20 percent off services and faculty receive 50 percent off.
All appointments are available Monday through Wednesday 12:45 p.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursday and Friday 9:45 a.m. to 3 p.m.