San Jacinto College ranks 31^st among community college associate degree producers

Rob Vanya, June 14, 2012

PASADENA, Texas — Community College Week Magazine has ranked San Jacinto College (SJC) 31^st in the nation among two-year institutions in its annual Top 100 Associate Degree Producers list. The College rose in ranking from the previous year’s analysis, when the College ranked 36^th on the Top 100 list.

The list also ranked the College 26^th in students who graduated with one- to two-year certificates, and 77^th in Hispanic graduates in all disciplines.

Among Community College Week’s top 50 associate degree producers list for fiscal year 2010-2011, San Jacinto College ranked sixth in the science technologies/technicians category; ninth in family and consumer sciences/human sciences; 18^th in registered nursing, nursing administration, nursing research and clinical nursing; 21^st in health professions and related programs; and 27^th in business, management, marketing, and related support services.

“We continue to see the results of our hard work in student performance and certificate and degree completion, and it is always gratifying to receive national notice for this work. We are making steady gains in closing the gaps among our diverse populations,” said Dr. Laurel Williamson, San Jacinto College vice chancellor of learning and student success. “We are committed to creating an effective, rigorous learning environment that engages students and promotes their success and that is fully integrated with student support services.”

As never before, the nation is looking to community colleges to prepare the under-prepared, to ready students for success at transfer institutions, and to serve as an economic driver in incumbent worker training and certificate and degree programs that prepare future workers. “The shared commitment to student success that exists across the College means that each of us understands his or her role in facilitating and supporting that success and takes that role seriously,” said Dr. Williamson. “We take pride in our efforts as individuals and as a college focused fully on student success and student completion.”

In a report to Community College Week about the Top 100 list, Dr. Victor Borden, professor of educational leadership and policy studies at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., noted that despite a “constrained fiscal environment” completion rates are trending upward at most of America’s postsecondary institutions. “In the tough fiscal year of 2010-2011, especially for public institutions, completion of two-year degrees and one- to two-year certificate awards not only reached another all-time high, but increased at an even faster rate than the year before,” remarked Borden.

About San Jacinto College

Surrounded by monuments of history, industries and maritime enterprises of today, and the space age of tomorrow, San Jacinto College has been serving the citizens of East Harris County, Texas, for more than 50 years. The Achieving the Dream Leader College is committed to the goals and aspirations of a diverse population of 30,000 students in more than 200 degree and certificate options, including university transfer and career preparation. Students also benefit from the College’s job training programs, renowned for meeting the needs of growing industries in the region. San Jacinto College graduates contribute nearly $630 million each year to the Texas workforce. San Jacinto College. Your Goals. Your College.

For more information about San Jacinto College, please call 281-998-6150, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.