This content was published: July 10, 2013. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
PCC improves its ranking in degree awarding, makes more top-100 lists
Photos and story by James Hill
Portland Community College ranked in the top-100 of nine associate’s degree producer lists in the recently released Community College Week’s annual Top 100 Associate Degree Producers Special Report. That is up from the college ranking in eight categories in 2012.
Two happy graduates from the 2013 PCC commencement ceremony.
PCC was No. 22 in the nation in awarding associate’s degrees overall, based on 2011-2012 data compiled by the newspaper. The college moved up three places from last year when it ranked No. 25 overall and two places among community colleges to 11th. The report by Community College Week serves as a report card for the nation’s community colleges on how well they are serving various populations and where they stand among their peers. The data is gleaned from analysis of information provided to the newspaper by the U.S. Department of Education.
According to Community College Week, it also serves as a barometer for President Barack Obama and his 2009 American Graduation Initiative, which aims to boost graduation rates, create access and strengthen infrastructure of the nation’s community colleges. Below are the rankings where PCC made the top-100 in associate’s degrees awarded to certain groups and areas (ranking last year):
- 99th in all disciplines for minority students (94th).
- 11th in all disciplines for non-minorities (15th).
- 39th in all disciplines for American Indians (69th).
- 37th in all disciplines for Asian Americans (33rd).
- 17th in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies, and Humanities (18th).
- 38th in Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services (45th).
- 29th in Engineering Technologies and Engineering-related fields (not ranked).
- 23rd in Precision Production (not ranked).
Interested in reading the special report? You can view it at the Community College Week Website.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »
I’m consened about racisum, being a black student makes it harder to finish school because of the extra stressors promoted by the establishment. We african americans are viewed as nonconformists if we publicly speak out against unfair treatments by our society. Can we have some protection, to improve our graduation rate and the school’s reputation? I’m expecting sarcasum, because most people whom are doing well in all ethnic groups want everything to stay as it is. I’m optomistic about PCC.,and I’m expecting to do well. I was forced to leave Eugene,Oregon last year because of extream racisum at Lane Community College, emposed on me by the Dean’s security policies. The opening day of registration the security followed me around the campus and tried to stop me from going to school by calling the police. The police told the security I had the right to go to school,after questioning me. Still the security people followed me and harrased me untill the last day of the quarter.
How about keep everything equal? You know, earn stuff on merit and ability?
You’re bragging about being #22 in overall associate degree awarding, #11 for non-minorities, #99 for minorities, #39 for American Indians, and #37 for Asian Americans… READ BETWEEN THE LINES, PEOPLE! Why is this good? Why is this something to celebrate? PCC, this shows you that you have at least one ABSOLUTELY GIANT shortcoming. If you can’t figure out what that is, why on earth are you running a community college, if you can’t understand basic arithmetic?
The rankings are published every year to give people an idea of who we serve and what disciplines are popular compared to colleges elsewhere. People like to know where their community college stands versus others and maybe help them see what it can do better and what it’s great at. As the article states, these have become more important because of the President’s and the Governor’s completion agendas. If one community isn’t being served as it should, it’s a problem we must solve. And the best thing about the rankings is no arithmetic is needed to understand them.
The rankings are based upon the number of degrees awarded. The fact that PCC has higher standing in the non-minority category than the minority category is mostly a reflection of the Portland metropolitan area’s relative lack of diversity compared to most large urban areas across the country. Perhaps PCC could do a better job of recruiting minority students and perhaps PCC could do a better job at serving minority populations – those are valid issues to explore. This data, however, is not relevant to those discussions.