Expanding child care and building new housing for student families at UC Santa Cruz
Quality and affordable on-campus child care is in high demand, and UC Santa Cruz is planning to expand its program to serve the children of faculty and staff, as well as students.
UC Santa Cruz currently offers child care to approximately 50 infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and after-school-age children through its Early Education Services program. The new on-site child care center, expected to open in fall 2025, will serve up to 140 children of faculty and staff as well as students, roughly double the capacity of our current facility.
Why is a new child care center needed?
UC Santa Cruz is the only UC without an on-site child care center for faculty and staff. In addition to serving our student-parent community, providing additional child care is an urgent need for recruiting and retaining talented faculty and staff.
Where will the new center be located?
The child care center will be part of the new family student housing community, adjacent to the intersection of Hagar and Coolidge drives. It will be across the street from existing employee housing, close to a local elementary school, and near the main campus entrance.
Why is a new Family Student Housing Community needed?
Committed to educational access, UC Santa Cruz offers a community designed for students with families. The buildings in the current Family Student Housing community, along Heller Drive, are in need of replacement, and UC Santa Cruz will be building a new Family Student Housing Community at the same site as the new child care center. UC Santa Cruz will build 140 two-bedroom apartments, which are scheduled to open in fall 2025. The site of the old Family Student Housing community will be redeveloped with residential buildings that will provide housing for up to 3,000 students.