Cerritos College Declares April as Community College Month

The Board of Trustees joined statewide efforts to declare April as Community College Month. The Board adopted a resolution to highlight the critical role community colleges play in providing students with access to an affordable, quality education. The California community college system makes up the largest entity of higher education in the country, serving 2.1 million students. It is an essential resource for the State of California and the economy. Students who begin their educational career at community colleges and complete their goals see a significant economic benefit. For every one dollar a student spends on his or her community college education, they see a return on investment of $3.80. Subsequently, taxpayers receive a cumulative return of $6.80 over the course of a student’s life for every one dollar spent on community colleges. In fact, Cerritos College graduates earn $58,500 by mid-career and 60 percent of alumni consider their occupation as being highly meaningful.

Student Success at Cerritos College - Cerritos College has a long history of cultivating and preparing the best and brightest students to become leaders in their industries. Notable alumni include California State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, former U.S. Representative Grace Napolitano (32nd District), music legends Poncho Sanchez and Bobby McFerrin, actor John Corbett (Sex and the City), among others. Strong student support resources, including educational planning and innovative programs, are key to the College’s ability to nurture a high academic learning environment. In 2018, 3,312 students received degrees and certificates, making the Class of 2018 the College’s largest graduating class in campus history. The College is also advancing student achievement through its Success Center. In 2018, the District invested $1.7 million in tutoring hours and logged 105,795 student visits to the Success Center. Students who regularly visit the Success Center for support increase their chances of passing their classes with a C or better.

Funding Student Success - In 2016, the Cerritos College Board of Trustees allocated $250,000 to launch Cerritos Complete, the District’s official Promise Program. Cerritos Complete offers eligible graduates from any high school within the District an opportunity to earn free tuition for two years through a merit-based scholarship. To date, Cerritos Complete has served 2,500 students. Cerritos Complete was recently awarded the 2018 Examples of Excelencia Award for helping to accelerate Latino student success. The program was also selected as a finalist for the prestigious 2018 Bellwether Award. The College is partnering with the Cerritos College Foundation to develop an endowment for scholarships to meet unfunded student needs.

“Cerritos College and California community colleges provide a clear pathway that gives first-generation and low-income students the opportunity to transition into the middle class. Through innovative programs, community colleges have been able to respond quickly to the needs of the workforce to provide students with the vital skills they need to compete for emerging and current jobs. Like many community colleges, Cerritos College is the foundation for students to gain access to a college degree or advanced training for a technical career,” said Cerritos College Board of Trustees President Carmen Avalos.