Miramar College was named a 2021 Equity Champion of Higher Education for its exemplary work in awarding Associate Degrees for Transfer (ADT) to Latinx students. This honor has been bestowed upon the College by the Campaign for College Opportunity. The percentage point gap (PPG) identifies campuses that are excelling in awarding ADTs to Latinx students, relative to their campus wide ADT conferral rates. The PPG illustrates when campuses are acting with intentionality to ensure Latinx students who have a transfer goal earn an ADT. Across all California Community Colleges, Miramar College ensured that a high proportion of degree or transfer seeking Latinx students received an ADT during the 2019-2020 academic year.
During the 2019-2020 academic year, Miramar College awarded 445 Associate Degrees for Transfer out its 946 associate degrees conferred.
In its last reporting period (Fall 2019), Miramar College served 3,996 students who identified as Latinx. Latinx students made up 28% of Miramar College’s student population in Fall 2019. The College also boasts an 88% retention rate among its Latinx student population.
“This is the result of genuinely working toward meaningful equity,” said Dr. Wesley Lundburg, president of San Diego Miramar College. “Equity is in the forefront of what we do as a college – and we are increasing our efforts in this area, tailoring our work to the populations we serve. All of us here at Miramar College make it a priority to work with each student as an individual in offering the services and resources that all our students need to succeed.”
Miramar College was one of 44 community colleges in the state honored.
Miramar College will receive recognition for its outstanding achievement at the Campaign for College Opportunity virtual event, Champions of Higher Education Celebration, on Nov. 16.
The Campaign for College Opportunity’s mission has been to ensure that all eligible and motivated students in California have an opportunity to go to college and succeed. The Campaign remains committed to keeping the State of California from breaking its promise of college opportunity to its next generation of young people in order to ensure a strong state for all of us.
Transfer from a community college to a four-year university continues to be a bureaucratic, inconsistent, and confusing maze, where students must parse through a system with varied information and requirements for each campus. Though transfer is often thought of as a two-year process, only 2.5 percent of California Community College students transfer after two years, and only 23 percent after four years.
One key effort that is clearing the transfer pathway is the Associate Degree for Transfer. In 2010, with then-CA senator Alex Padilla, the Campaign for College Opportunity sponsored historic transfer reform legislation that created a clear pathway for students to earn an associate degree with guaranteed admission and junior standing into the CSU system. The ADT has insured students can transfer without accumulating excess units, saving them time and money.
To date, the California Community Colleges have awarded over 280,000 ADTs. Transfer students with an ADT enrolling in the CSU on a guaranteed pathway are more likely to graduate and accumulate fewer units, earning their bachelor's degree in less time compared to other transfer students.
To learn more about how the honorees are selected, click here.
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