Rankings
Largest California Community Colleges in terms of enrollments, 2009-2010
| Rank | College | Founded | Enrollments | Rank | College | Founded | Enrollments | Rank | College | Founded | Enrollments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Ana | 1915 | 68,632 | 7 | San Francisco | 1935 | 48,865 | 13 | Saddleback | 1967 | 40,417 |
| 2 | East Los Angeles | 1945 | 65,990 | 8 | Palomar | 1946 | 47,757 | 14 | Sacramento | 1916 | 40,417 |
| 3 | Mt San Antonio | 1945 | 58,743 | 9 | Santa Rosa | 1918 | 46,057 | 15 | El Camino | 1947 | 39,755 |
| 4 | Riverside | 1916 | 55,972 | 10 | Pasadena | 1924 | 42,615 | 16 | San Diego Mesa | 1962 | 37,095 |
| 5 | American River | 1955 | 54,229 | 11 | Long Beach | 1927 | 41,833 | 36 | San Diego City | 1914 | 28,289 |
| 6 | Santa Monica | 1929 | 53,515 | 12 | De Anza | 1967 | 40,822 | 61 | San Diego Miramar | 1964 | 20,220 |
There is no official ranking for community colleges in California or the United States. Community colleges vary widely in terms of student population, faculty and classes available and students' reasons for enrollment and commitment to their educational goals. All of this directly affects the overall annual amount of degrees awarded and transfers to 4-year universities at each college. Additionally, community colleges are aimed at providing educational opportunities to their immediate and local region to allow the local population to expand their knowledge, education and to prepare them for further education for those seeking 4-year college degrees and beyond.
Among the various reasons local residents seek enrollment at community colleges are the flexibility they provide to accommodate daily life with a college education; their much lower cost of attendance than for-profit schools, and their open enrollment which allows for virtually anyone to pursue a higher education including those who must start from scratch and do not immediately possess the academic background required for admission to universities.
For statistical purposes, community colleges do collect comparable information following usual criteria such as demographics, size and attendance, number of degrees awarded, numbered of transfers to higher institutions, spending, etc.
By comparison, for the 2009-2010 academic year, the San Diego Community College District had the same associate's degree-awarding rate as the Los Angeles Community College District in relation to each districts' annual student population. For the same academic year, the Coast Community College District granted almost 3 times as many more associate's degrees in relation to both districts' annual student population.
Read more about this topic: San Diego Community College District