Merced College officials this week said the campus has exceeded an enrollment of 18,000 students in 2023-24, and they’re optimistic about seeing record enrollment in the 2024-25 school year.
Those numbers show a significant turnaround for the college from just a few years ago, when the COVID pandemic resulted in a massive enrollment dip.
The college reported a total of 18,827 full and part-time students in 2023-24, a 21.7% increase from 2021-22.
The data was among the details shared during the school’s 11th Annual State of the College Address, which was presented by President Chris Vitelli on Monday at the Merced College Los Banos Campus.
Vitelli said he expects the college will probably get closer to 20,000 students by the end of the 2024-25 school year. “That’s a testament to our expanding reach and relevance,” Vitelli said.
During that period, the college also awarded 3,300 certificates and degrees.
A report presented by the college also said most of its transfer students went on to Stanislaus State in 2023-24 (361 students), followed by Fresno State (102 students), UC Merced (93 students), Sacramento State (22 students) and San Francisco State (17 students).
President’s Medallion Award presented
The highlight of Monday’s ceremony was the presentation of the President’s Medallion Award to longtime developer Larry Anderson and his wife and Georgeann.
Merced College officials said the family’s 125-acre land donation led to the creation of a permanent home for the district in Los Banos.
According to a news release, the college’s presence in Los Banos dates back more than 50 years, but it wasn’t until the donation of 125 acres by the Anderson family that a permanent campus could be constructed.
The land donation was followed by the passage of a bond measure in 2002 to fund construction. The new Los Banos Campus opened in 2007, and since then it’s grown exponentially to provide many programs, classes and opportunities to students in the county’s Westside communities, the release said.
That growth is expected to continue, thanks to the passage of Measure P on the November ballot. The $46 million bond is geared toward funding expansion and modernization at the Los Banos campus.
That will include a new Career Technical Education Building, which will house programs in healthcare, agriculture, computer information systems, welding and other in-demand careers.
Monday’s event was the first state of the college event held at the Los Banos campus.
New AgTec Innovation Center to break ground
Next week Merced College will break ground on the AgTEC Innovation Center, which will house agriculture processing equipment, food research and training facilities, and a community farm market.
The state-of-the-art facility will provide students with hands-on learning and further enhance the college’s existing agriculture education programs, officials say.
The project received $15 million in state funding, made possible by state Senator Anna Caballero, and Fresno-Merced Future of Food (F3).
The ceremony is scheduled for Thursday morning, April 17, and is open to the public.