College of the Canyons (COC) has been ranked as one of the top colleges in the nation and No. 1 in Southern California for adult students by Washington Monthly magazine.
Washington Monthly analyzed data from 1,088 two-year colleges to create its list of the 100 “Best Two-Year Colleges for Adult Learners,” citing a lack of rankings for colleges that cater to adult students over the age of 25.
Only 11 two-year colleges made the list, with COC cracking the top-50 spot, ranking No. 43 in the nation and nabbing the No. 1 spot for colleges in Southern California. At the time of the ranking, students age 25 and over made up 32 percent of COC’s student population in 2016-17.
“It is an honor to be included among the top two-year colleges that provide a wide array of services for adult students,” said COC chancellor Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook. “College of the Canyons is proud of its history of energetically acting on our commitment to support adult students by offering flexible programs and the resources that will help them to overcome obstacles and achieve their academic goals.”
Washington Monthly ranked colleges using data from the College Board’s Annual Survey of Colleges, Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System survey, as well as the department’s College Scorecard database. The magazine then created a 19-point scale based on the following eight factors:
- Ease of transfer/enrollment
- Flexibility of programs
- Services available for adult students
- Percentage of adult students at the college
- Graduation rates of part-time students
- Mean earnings of adult students ten years after entering college
- Loan repayment rates of adult students five years after entering repayment
- Tuition and fees for in-district students
COC scored a 17 out of 19 possible points, earning 4 out of 4 for ease of transfer, 7 out of 9 for flexibility of programs, and 6 out of 6 for services available to adult students.
The full list of rankings is available in the Washington Monthly’s September/October 2018 issue and can be accessed online.
