The California Community Colleges continue to make progress toward meeting its Vision for Success goals, established nearly five years ago to set a path to increase certificate and degree attainment, to improve transfer and to close equity gaps.
“With hard work and the urgency and commitment that our students deserve we are making steady progress toward meeting our goals, despite challenges that could have slowed our momentum,” California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley said in his State of the System report to the Board of Governors on Monday. “Credit goes to faculty, staff and students who continue to move our system forward.”
Over the past year, the system added momentum in exceeding its goal of increasing the number of students earning credentials each year by at least 20 percent. Since 2016-17, the number of students receiving credentials has increased by 27 percent.
Transfer to California State University and the University of California increased by 4 percent from last year, though the increase in the number of transfer-prepared community students continues to outpace growth in the number of students who actually transfer to CSU and UC. The number of students earning an Associate Degree for Transfer increased 7.6 percent over the past year, and the five-year increase stands at 74 percent.
“The governor’s recently announced Roadmap for California Community Colleges establishes ambitious goals that align with our Vision for Success, and we look forward to increasing transfer with strengthened partnerships across higher education segments,” said Board of Governor’s President Pamela Haynes.
Progress toward the goal of reducing the units students accumulate before receiving their associate degree and the goal of increasing the number of students who get jobs in their field of study continued to show steady but modest improvements.
While there has been improvement in outcomes for all students over the timeframe of the Vision for Success, equity and regional gaps remain and, in some cases, widened over the past year.
The State of the System presentation detailed commitments to continue to design student-centered policies that address equity gaps and support the development of empowered and agile learners so that they can achieve upward career mobility.
