District officials credit steady enrollment growth coming out of the COVID pandemic along with increasingly effective student success and completion efforts, particularly with traditionally underrepresented students.
Associate degrees awarded by San Diego City College are up 31%, Mesa College is seeing a 14% bump, and Miramar College a 23% increase. Twenty-nine percent of SDCCD graduates are first-generation college students and nearly 3 out of 4 are from traditionally underrepresented groups.
The noncredit San Diego College of Continuing Education is seeing a 40% jump in students earning adult high school diplomas and a 20% boost in program certificates that provide a pathway to well-paying careers and college degrees.
In total, 18,396 degrees and certificates are being awarded at the district’s four colleges, a 9% increase.
“Those numbers reflect the hard work and determination of our extraordinary students, and the dedication of the professors, counselors, librarians, classified professionals, and administrators across our district who are committed to ensuring equitable access to a college education,” said SDCCD Chancellor Gregory Smith.
Commencement season began May 15 at San Diego Miramar College. Upcoming graduations include:
- San Diego City College commencement is scheduled to begin 5 p.m. Thursday, May 21, at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park, 2125 Pan American E Road, 92101.
- San Diego Mesa College commencement is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Friday, May 29, at Merrill Douglas Stadium on the Mesa College campus, 7250 Mesa College Drive.
- San Diego College of Continuing Education commencement is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Tuesday June 2 at the Town & Country Resort, 500 Hotel Circle North, 92108, just south of the Fashion Valley trolley stop.