USA Today has named West Hills College Lemoore the top community college in Northern California based on criteria including university transfer rate, student-faculty ratio, affordability and distance education.
WHCL was also highlighted as one of the region’s star performers when it comes to distance education, ranking number one overall with an estimated 43% of students enrolled in a form of distance education.
“West Hills College Lemoore is dedicated to serving students and a major part of that is making sure that education is accessible to them,” said WHCL President Don Warkentin. “Our continuous online curriculum development and support systems have allowed us to reach many more students that otherwise may not have been able to enroll in courses on the campus.”
Dr. Frank Gornick, Chancellor of the West Hills Community College District, said the efforts of faculty, staff and administration who have devoted their time to improving student success is a large reason for the college’s achievement.
“It is wonderful to see the great work by our faculty, staff and administration receive this well-deserved recognition on behalf of our students and the citizens of Kings County,” he said.
In the article, the top ten colleges in Northern and Southern California from a previous ranking of the top 25 schools throughout the state were rated based on several different metrics.
Northern Californian colleges, including WHCL, came out on top for transfer rate with the schools producing almost 60% more transfer students than schools in Southern California.
Southern California ranked highest as a region when it came to distance education, although WHCL ranked number one in Northern California.
The two regions were even based on student-faculty ratio, which went to Northern California and affordability, which went to Southern California.
Overall, Northern California was listed as better for students looking for smaller classes while affordability was mentioned as an incentive for students attending Southern California colleges.
Alongside WHCL, top-ranked schools in Northern California also included Porterville College at #2, San Jose City College and Mendocino College.
The article can be found at http://college.usatoday.com/2015/07/30/norcal-vs-socal-community-colleges/.