1. Kern Community College District
& California Community Colleges
Lighting the Way to a New Economy
Presented by
Michele Bresso, Associate Vice Chancellor

2. California Community Colleges
Early Years
• Defined by the Educational Master Plan
• Tuition free
• Open access
– Admit any student who can benefit from
instruction
• Provide academic and vocational instruction
for older and younger students

3. Community Colleges
Early years
• Many missions evolved
– Transfer
– Degree & certificates
– Workforce training
– Basic skills
– Lifelong learning
– Educational enrichment
– Self-discovery

4. California Community Colleges
Today
• 112 colleges in 72 districts
• Over 2.6 million students
– CSU: 360,000 students
– UC: 183,000 students
• Local comparison:
– Bakersfield College: 17,700 students
• Over twice the number of CSUB undergraduate
students

5. Community Colleges
Today
• Narrower mission
– Transfer
– Workforce training
– Basic skills instruction

6. Community Colleges
Today
• Less funding per student than any
California public education system
• CCs are funded at:
– 65% of K-12
– 46% of CSU
– 26% of UC

7. Community Colleges
Today
• Community colleges make their
mark daily by providing
– Trained workers for middle skills jobs
– Services essential to the health and
welfare of our state and communities
• For example . . .

8. Did you know?
• 80% of safety personnel are
credentialed at community
colleges
– Firefighters
– Law enforcement officers
– EMTs

9. Did you know?
• 70% of nurses in California
are trained at community
colleges

10. Did you know?
• Community college transfer
students make up 48% of
UC’s STEM graduates

11. Did you know?
• 24% of community college
students nationwide are in
California

12. Did you know?
• Over half of California’s
veterans who are receiving
GI benefits are at
community colleges

13. Kern Community College
District
• Our three colleges
PORTERVILLE
COLLEGE

14. Kern Community College
District
• About 21,000 FTES
– BC accounts for about 2/3
– PC & CC combined = 1/3
• Almost 25,000 square miles
– Serving parts of 5 counties

15. Kern Community College
District
• Our student body:
– Hispanic – 45.6%
– White – 37.8%
– African American – 6.6%
– Asian – 5.1%
– Two or more races – 2.4%
– Native American – 1.4%

16. Kern Community College
District
• Demographics:
– Female –56%
• Age
– 24 or younger – 55%
– 25-39 – 30%
– 40 & older – 15%

17. Kern Community College
District
• Annual unrestricted budget
– $95 million
• Projected 2012-13 budget
represents a 14.86% decline in
funding over 5 years
– Of that projected decline, nearly half
will result if Governor’s tax initiative--
Prop 30--does not pass

18. Bakersfield College
• Founded in 1913 at BHS
– Today: Panorama Campus &
Delano Center
– New Veterans Center
– Levan Institute for Lifelong Learning
• Bakersfield College partners with
businesses
– STEM, nursing, agriculture & more

19. Porterville College
• Founded in 1927
• Well connected with area schools
• Impacting the community with
strong programs in
– Nursing
– Psychiatric technician
– Firefighting

20. Cerro Coso Community
College
• Founded in 1973
• 18,500 square miles of service area
– Ridgecrest & Edwards AFB
– Kern River Valley & California City
– Bishop & Mammoth
• Grant partnerships in engineering,
health, renewable energy
• Pioneer of distance learning

21. Career Pathways in KCCD
• Agriculture & Natural Resources
• Art, Media & Communication
• Business, Management & Technology
• Engineering & Industrial Technology
• Health Services & Child Development
• Administration of Justice

22. Challenges
• Funding
• Narrowing to core mission
– Fewer course choices
– More direct path to completion

23. Challenges
• Costs of Career/Tech Ed (CTE) programs
– Example: Nursing Program’s Sim Man

24. $80,000

25. Challenges
• Broad mission while…
– Low funding
– Increased expectations for success/completion
• 70% of students not college ready
– English & Math deficient
– As many as 5 levels below college transfer
• Many are not workforce ready

26. How You Can Help
• Provide funding or opportunities
– Internships
– Work experience
– Donations of equipment & supplies
– Program sponsorship

27. How You Can Help
• Support student clubs
• Mentor students in your career field

28. Most importantly…
• Engage in public/private partnerships
with Kern Community College District

29. Kern Community College District
& California Community Colleges
Lighting the Way to a New Economy
Michele Bresso, Associate Vice Chancellor
mbresso@kccd.edu