Cerritos College’s Housing Project for Homeless Students is 2023 Excelencia Award Finalist

The Village housing is boosting student success 

Cerritos College was selected as a 2023 Examples of Excelencia
finalist for The Village, an innovative housing project for its diverse student body. Opened in 2020, The
Village is California’s first community college housing program designed exclusively for students
facing homelessness.

Three years after its grand opening, data shows that the college’s efforts to address students’ basic
needs lead to higher success rates among its students. In addition to providing safe and secure
housing, students who live at The Village receive wraparound support services including
comprehensive education planning and financial literacy education. According to the college’s
Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Research, Planning, and Grants, 40 percent of students who were
housed at The Village received a degree or certificate in their first two years, compared to 15
percent among the general student population.

“We are honored to receive the 2023 Examples of Excelencia finalist recognition,” said Cerritos
College President/Superintendent Dr. Jose L. Fierro. “At Cerritos College, we know that when we
invest in meeting our students’ basic needs, we remove barriers to their education and help them to
achieve upward social mobility. The results are clear, and the demand for student housing is high. We
stand ready to scale up our existing housing program to meet the needs of our community.”

Cerritos College is currently seeking state grant funding to build affordable on-campus student
housing through the Higher Education Student Housing Grant Program. If funded, the college will
immediately begin construction of affordable student housing units that can house over 400 students
by 2026.

Examples of Excelencia is the only national effort to identify and promote evidence-based practices
that help accelerate Latino student success in higher education. Through a yearlong
process, Excelencia in Education identifies, reviews, and promotes programs at colleges and
universities, as well as community-based organizations.