Hartnell Continues Climb in Degrees and Certificates

SALINAS, Calif. — Continuing a series of annual gains, Hartnell College students earned 13 percent more degrees and certificates this year than last, for a total of 2,449 credentials awarded.
Hartnell awarded 1,486 associate degrees during the 2018-19 academic year that ended July 26, compared with 1,314 in 2017-18. Also during 2018-19, the college awarded 963 certificates, for shorter-term study, compared with 851 the year before.
Hartnell has nearly tripled its degrees and certificates over the past seven years, while enrollment has held relatively steady, up just 3.7 percent, for a current total of 7,372 full-time equivalent students. The number of credentials awarded by the college has increased by a yearly average of 17 percent since 2011-12, when students earned 578 degrees and 257 certificates.
In an email to colleagues, Superintendent/President Dr. Willard Lewallen said the outcomes reflect “another year of amazing work” in academic support and student services.
Aurelio Salazar Jr., president of the Hartnell Community College District Board of Trustees, also credited Hartnell employees for the achievement.
“Hartnell’s academic success would not have been possible without all of the hard work and dedication by faculty, staff and administration,” Salazar said. “Student success is our number one priority. Our students receive nothing less than educational excellence.”
The number of Hartnell graduates transferring to the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems continues to increase, as well. The UC reported that 80 Hartnell students enrolled at one of its nine campuses in the past year. That is a gain of 138 percent since 2013-14. The CSU has yet to report its system-wide transfer numbers for 2018-19, but 582 Hartnell graduates enrolled at its 23 campuses in 2017-18, up from 441 in 2013-14.
Another upward indicator for the college is its enrollment of graduates from high schools within the Hartnell Community College District, which stretches from north Monterey County through the entire Salinas Valley. In 2018-19, Hartnell enrolled 1,361 graduates from local high schools, up from 883 in 2012-13, an increase of 54 percent.
“It’s all about completion, about getting students across the finish line,” Dr. Lewallen said, “and I don’t think there’s another college in the state that’s doing a better job than us. We have relentlessly focused on student success and institutional effectiveness these past seven years.”