El Camino College had 18,626 students during the 2018 school year. During the pandemic, enrollment dropped to below 15,000. The projection for the current 2022-2023 school year shows enrollment climbing back, but slowly, to just over 15,000 students.
Of these, almost 40 percent are taking classes online, or partially online, and partially on campus.
To encourage enrollment, and to gather community input for the school’s 10-year comprehensive plan, Area 3 (Beach Cities) Trustee Trisha Murakawa will lead a community forum on Thursday, April 20 at 6 p.m. at the South Bay Adult School, 3401 Inglewood Ave., Redondo Beach.
Murakawa said declining enrollment at community colleges is a statewide problem. She attributes the decline in part to students not knowing the benefits of attending a community college.
“El Camino offers a pathway to a four year college, and a pathway to certification for jobs that start at $80,000 a year,” she said.
El Camino recently signed an agreement with the Los Angeles and Orange County construction unions to offer certification programs that qualify students for trade union apprenticeships. El Camino also offers STEM programs (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) that partner its students with Northrop Grumman.
One positive sign about enrollment, Murakawa said, is the growing number of older students taking career advancement, and “learning enrichment” classes.
For more information about the Thursday, April 20 forum, visit www.ElCamino.edu/cip-forums. ER
