History, Descriptive Background and Demographics

Introduction

History:

Higher education in Ventura County began in 1925 when a junior college department was added at the then Ventura Union High School on Santa Clara Street in Ventura . The history of Ventura College reflects the development of the California Higher Education Plan, incorporating the developments and changes in the institutions that were created to guide the young people of the state into adulthood.

In 1929, the Ventura High School District adopted the four-four plan of secondary education providing four years of junior high school (grades 7-10) and four years of high school/junior college (grades 11-14). The next year Ventura Junior College , as the senior four-year school was then known, was moved to a new campus at Main and Catalina Streets in Ventura , the current campus of Ventura High School .

In 1952, responding to recommendations from a commissioned study concerning population growth and building needs, the Ventura High School District adopted a 3-3-2 organization. Ventura Junior College became Ventura College , a two-year institution for the freshman and sophomore years of college.

In 1955, the College moved to its present 112-acre hillside campus at 4667 Telegraph Road in the eastern part of Ventura . The current student enrollment of the College for day and evening classes, including both on-campus and off-campus, is approximately 12,500.

FTES SUMMARY
1995-96 to 2002-03

Fiscal Year	FTES	% Change from Previous Year
1995-96	7,783.64
1996-97	7,833.46	.64%
1997-98	8,181.25	4.44%
1998-99	8,316.45	1.65%
1999-00	8,629.58	3.77 %
2000-01	8,967.64	3.92%
2001-02	8,936.58	-.35%
2002-03	8,725.71	-2.36%

The East Campus was added in Santa Paula in 1974, to serve the Santa Clara River Valley 's predominantly Hispanic population, then called the Santa Paula/Fillmore Vocational Center, and moving and expanding the services and offerings as the student population increased. The growth of enrollment has been substantial, and the Center and off-campus programs now serve an average of 1,400 students per semester. The East Campus has begun the process of applying to the State for Educational Center status. At the East Campus, students can take a full range of general education and vocational classes, and the Center has added a Library and Learning Resource Center that is linked to the main campus Library, an Internet Café, and a range of student services including counseling, orientation and assessment, financial aid advice, and registration assistance. In addition to East Campus, Ventura College utilizes classrooms at the Santa Paula High School , Fillmore High School , Nordhoff High School in Ojai and classrooms in Piru. The college also offers classes at the California Youth Authority facility in Ventura .

East Campus and Other Off-Campus Locations
Enrollment History - Fall 1999 to Fall 2003

Term	Number of Classes *	Enrollment at Census	Total Contact Hours	Total Aggregate WSCH	Total FTES	Change in FTES from Previous Year
Fall 1999	29	431	48,243.25	2,756.76	91.89
Fall 2000	66	1,179	116,835.75	6,676.33	222.54	142.18%
Fall 2001	74	1,508	132,923.70	7,595.65	253.19	13.77%
Fall 2002	91	1,664	135,799.35	7,759.98	258.67	2.16%
Fall 2003	78	1,417	114,534.25	6,544.81	218.16

Figures for Fall 2003 are not yet final.
* Number of active classes with enrollment greater than zero.

The citizens of Ventura County voted in 1962 to form a community college district separate from any other public school entity. Ventura College has since grown into a comprehensive community college serving a diverse population of college-age and adult students who pursue a wide variety of transfer, vocational, and other educational goals. Today the Ventura County Community College District includes two additional colleges - Moorpark and Oxnard. The District Offices are centrally located in Camarillo . The district serves approximately 35,000 students annually.

In March 2002, the Ventura County voters approved a $356 million general obligation bond (Measure S) to renovate and expand all three campuses and the District training facilities for police, fire, and sheriff's officers. The funds will also support the development of satellite facilities in the Santa Clara River Valley for Ventura College and the Conejo Valley for Moorpark College . The first Ventura College building using bond funds is the new Library and Learning Resource Center scheduled to open in the Fall 2004. Other planned facilities include a new general purpose classroom, a health sciences building for the nursing, paramedic and emergency medicine programs, an arts and sciences building that will encompass a planetarium and art gallery, as well as classrooms and reception facilities for fundraising activities, new athletic facilities, renovated student services areas, a high tech center and general technology upgrades and storage facilities. The bond includes funds for the building of a permanent East Campus facility when a location is selected. The student body also approved a Student Center Fee, which will be used to renovate the Campus Center and Student Activities area.

Ventura College serves a diverse student body through both credit and non-credit offerings. The college has more than 45 associate degree programs and more than 50 certificate study areas. Many of the courses are available through the college's rapidly expanding distance education program. The Distance Education program includes online, video and television courses. Students can enroll in almost all the required general education courses over the course of an academic year. Online courses available as of this writing include health and wellness, child development, guidance workshops, foreign languages, mathematics, business, astronomy, anthropology (including the laboratory course), and psychology. Video courses include business, child development, history, philosophy, political science, sociology and psychology, while English courses are offered in a hybrid online/classroom version. For Fall 2003/Spring 2004, Ventura College enrolled approximately 2,300 students in distance learning offerings.

In addition, the Community Education program offers hundreds of classes three times a year to those interested in learning about music, dance, writing, fitness, cooking, financial planning, languages and myriad other topics in a non-competitive, not-for-credit environment. The college's Emeritus Institute serves lifelong learners interested in true college courses, but not seeking transfer or degree credit. Students enrolled through the Emeritus Institute take no tests, do no homework and earn no credits - but benefit from a traditional learning atmosphere.

Descriptive Background and Demographics:

The Ventura College service area includes the cities of Ventura , Santa Paula , Ojai, Oak View, and Camarillo , the towns of Fillmore and Piru and portions of the city of Oxnard . Since the last self-study report was filed in 1995-1996, the population of Ventura County has grown from about 700,000 to more than 802,000 in 2004. The population is distributed as follows:

Historical City, County, and State Population Estimates,
1995-2004, with 1990 and 2000 Census Counts
(Parts may not add due to independent rounding)
Official State Estimates

City/County	1-1-96	1-1-97	1-1-98	1-1-99	1-1-00	1-1-01	1-1-02	1-1-03	1-1-04
Camarillo	54,000	54,300	55,000	55,700	56,900	58,100	59,400	60,500	61,700
Fillmore	12,900	13,150	13,350	13,500	13,600	13,850	14,450	14,700	15,150
Moorpark	28,550	29,650	30,600	31,050	31,400	31,900	33,200	34,550	34,900
Ojai	7,775	7,825	7,850	7,850	7,875	7,925	7,950	8,000	8,100
Oxnard	157,500	159,800	163,000	166,100	169,300	174,800	179,100	181,800	186,100
Port Hueneme	21,150	21,500	21,250	21,150	21,850	21,950	21,950	21,800	22,150
Ventura	98,100	98,700	99,200	99,800	100,800	101,700	102,800	104,300	105,000
Santa Paula	27,300	27,550	27,950	28,300	28,600	28,800	28,850	28,950	29,100
Simi Valley	101,100	102,600	104,100	106,700	110,700	114,000	116,000	117,700	118,800
Thousand Oaks	108,800	110,400	112,200	113,600	116,500	118,700	121,500	124,000	126,100
Incorporated	617,200	625,400	634,500	643,900	657,500	671,700	685,200	696,400	707,100
Balance of County	90,500	90,700	90,900	92,000	93,000	93,600	94,200	95,200	95,400
County Total	707,800	716,100	725,400	736,000	750,500	765,300	779,400	791,600	802,400

In the fall 1995, the College enrolled 10,013 students. For the years fall 1999 to fall 2003, the college enjoyed an overall 9.2% increase in non-duplicated headcount, and a 10.7% increase in student credit unit enrollment. By Fall 2002, Ventura College enrolled 13,187 students. A year later, following a 14% schedule cut and a 64% increase in enrollment fees (from $11 per unit to $18 per unit), the college enrolled 12,801, a loss of only 2.9%. Unfortunately, however, this downward enrollment trend is continuing as the reductions in the schedule of classes have continued. In Spring 2004, 12,478 students enrolled, down from 12,932 the prior spring, a loss of -3.5% in headcount. From the Spring 2000 to the Spring 2004, however, we have grown 5.7% in credit-unit enrollment.

In 1995, 160 full-time faculty members, approximately twice that number of part-time faculty; nine managers and 154 classified staff served the 10,013 Ventura College students. As of Fall 2003, Ventura College 's 12,801 students are served by 123 full-time faculty, 383 part-time faculty and 159 full and part-time permanent classified staff and led by eleven managers.

Ventura College Staff Demographics
Fall 2003 - Spring 2004

Classification	Fall 2003	Spring 2004	Change
Academic Employees
Full-time Faculty	123	124	+1
Part-time Faculty	383	399	+16
Academic Managers	12	11	-1
Classified Employees
Full-time Classified	143	146	+3
Part-time Classified	16	16	-
Classified Supervisors	9	9	-
Classified Managers	2	2	-
Total Employees	688	707	+19

The staff at the College is diverse by age, ethnicity and gender, although not exactly representative of the community and the students they serve.

Ventura College Employee Demographics
Fall 2003

Category	VC Employees Fall 2003		% County Population (2000)	% College Students
	Number	%
Gender: Female	347	50.4	50.1	57.26
Male	341	49.6	49.9	42.74
Ethnic: African American/Black	18	2.6	1.9	2.2
Asian/Filipino/ Pacific Islander	34	4.9	5.5	3.94
Hispanic	117	17	33.4	36.15
Native American	11	1.6	.9	1.22
White	465	67.6	69.9	46.91
Other	5	.7	17.7	.87
Unknown	38	5.5	-	5.88
Age: Under 30	21	3.1	Under 25 - 36.5	68.66
30-39	82	11.9	25-34 - 13.8	12.73
40-49	187	27.2	35-44 - 16.9	10.53
50-59	274	39.8	45-59 - 18.2	5.46
60-64	71	10.3	3.4	2.6
65+	53	7.7	10.1

Consistent with its service area and the State Educational Mission for Community Colleges, Ventura College attracts its students from the following communities: (numbers represent credit-unit enrollment).

Stated Residence of Students Enrolling in Ventura College

Community/City	Spring 2004 Percentage	Fall 2002 Percentage	Fall 1999 Percentage
Ventura	36.1	36.53	39.9
Oxnard	22.3	22.04	20.7
Santa Paula	10.1	10.29	7.9
Camarillo	7.1	7.87	8.9
Ojai Valley	6.8	6.8	7.3
Fillmore/Piru	5.2	5.01	3.7
Pt. Hueneme	2.2	2.34	2.6
L.A. County	1.2	1.22	.3
Newbury Park/Westlake	.7	.8	.9
Simi Valley	.5	.59	.6
Thousand Oaks	.5	.52	.7
Moorpark	.2	.38	.3
Other CA areas	2.9	1.03	.3
Other U.S. States	2.3	4.58
Foreign Countries	1.6
Unknown	.4	Not shown

Ventura College has a balanced, diverse student population, consistent with the population of the county. The following numbers reflect Spring 2004 headcount enrollment, and a county comparison:

Student Headcount Ethnic Enrollment at Ventura College
In comparison with County Ethnic Make-up

Ethnic Group	Spring 2004 % College Enrollment	Spring 2003 % College Enrollment	Fall 1995 % College Enrollment	2001 County Percentage
White	46.5	49.5	57.1	46.6
Hispanic	36.3	34.8	28.2	34.6
Unreported	6.5	5.6	3.5	0
Asian/Filipino/Islander	6.3	6.1	6.1	5.1
Black	2.3	1.9	2.9	1.9
Other	.8	.8	.8	10.8
Native American	1.2	1.2	1.4	1.0

Committed to divers ity , Ventura College has been designated a Hispanic Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education, and provides strong support services for Hispanic and other diverse student populations, including an Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) office, an extensive English as a Second Language program, bilingual staff and campus publications, MECHA, SHPE and EOPSSA campus clubs, and Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) and ENLACE programs. Almost 55% of the student body is non-Anglo, and the satellite East Campus is located in the predominantly Hispanic neighboring city of Santa Paula . Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine has named Ventura College one of the Top 50 Community Colleges for Hispanic students annually for the past eight years. According to the most recent U.S. Department of Education statistics, Ventura College was 38 th in the nation for granting associate's degrees to Hispanic students. In 2003, Community College Week named Ventura College 80 th in the nation for granting associate's degrees to minority students.

The number of students receiving degrees from Ventura College has increased pretty consistently and substantially from 1995 to the present:

Percentage of Hispanic Graduates from Ventura College
1995-2003

Year	Percentage of Hispanic Graduates
1995	25.2
1996	25.45
1997	26.71
1998	27.06
1999	30.6
2000	28.79
2001	30.39
2002	30.4
2003	32.0
2004	Not known yet

Over the past five years, data indicates that the number of degrees awarded by Ventura College has continued to increase fairly consistently.

Degrees and Certificates Awarded by Ventura College
1998-99 to 2002-03

	1998-99	1999-00	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03
Associate of Arts	664	692	680	716	770
Associate of Science	167	157	211	150	173
Certificate 6-17 hours	All Certificates 38
Certificate 18-29 hours	6	49	30	46
Certificate 30-59 hours	15	58	39	20
Certificate 60+ hours
Certificate of Achievement	1	4
Certificate of Completion
Total	869	871	1,002	935	1,009

The college enrollment was 56.5% female in Spring 2004, up a little from the year before. Ventura College also has a slightly older student population than her sister colleges. Our average student age in Spring 2004 was 28.2 years old. This is a slight drop from the prior year, which averaged 28.8 years old. Our student population is aging slightly, but the college has also directed some marketing to the older potential student over the past several years, and created the Emeritus Institute, which was designed to attract older, life-long learners. The median age for the county is 33.8 years old, and the county population is 51% female.

Student Enrollees Age Range 1995 - 2004
Compared with County Population Age

Student Headcount Age	Spring 2004 College %	Fall 1995 College %	Ventura County Population %
Under 18	6.6	21.0	31.3
18-19	20.3
20-21	16.7	29.2	6.2
22-24	13.3
25-29	11.7	13.5	13.8
30-34	7.0	30.3
35-39	5.6	16.9 (35-44 yrs)
40-49	10.9	13.6 (45-54 yrs)
50-64	6.5	6.0	4.6 (55-64 yrs)
65+	1.4	10.1
Unknown	0.1	None shown

 

39.6% of our Spring 2004 students enrolled in the daytime only, 34.1% took only evening classes and 26.2% took both day and night classes. The majority of Ventura College weekend classes were abolished two years ago as part of the college's response to the state and district budget crisis.

The cities in Ventura County are going through another fiscal crisis as a result of the state fiscal downturn. This has resulted in employment cutbacks and layoffs at the county level, in the city governments and with manufacturing and other employers around the county. However, housing sales and costs are at an all-time high. The cost of housing is a major concern for employers attempting to create businesses and bring employees into the county. Employees leave jobs in the county because only 22% of those who live in the county can currently qualify for the median cost home. Unemployment is at about 5%, lower than in other parts of California , but high for the cost of living in the county.

There is a new institution of higher learning in Ventura County since the last Self Study Report. California State University at Channel Islands (CSUCI) opened in Camarillo in 2002, and graduated its first four students in 2003 - those who had taken enough classes through California State University at Northridge (CSUN) to complete their degrees. The new University is stymied in its attempts to grow by the current state budget situation, thereby making it impossible for CSUCI to accommodate the number of students an institution of its kind is designed to handle. The state budget has severely limited any growth at the institution. Ventura College has a transfer agreement in place with CSUCI and CSUN, as it does with four other institutions, but the transfer situation is limited now by the lack of growth allowed to the CSUs and UCs now by the State. In fact, it appears that the state university systems may have to cut their enrollments, pushing qualified students back to the Community Colleges, with questionable funding for the unanticipated growth. However, the proposed raise in rates to $26 per unit will also have an impact, although at this point, the impact is unknown.

Students select and enroll at Ventura College with a variety of goals. Using credit-unit enrollment data for past decade, data shows that myriad aspirations of students have not changed a great deal in priority:

GOALS PROVIDED BY STUDENTS ENROLLED
AT VENTURA COLLEGE
Spring 1995 - Spring 2004

Stated Goal	Percentage Spring 2004	Percentage Spring 2001	Percentage Spring 1998	Percentage Spring 1995
AA/AS and Transfer	38.94	18.94	35	13.41
Transfer - no AA/AS	8.13	5.63	9.31
AA - no transfer	4.66	2.81	4	1.85
AS - no transfer	1.17	1.66
Voc Cert - no transfer	1.16	1.22	3	9.76
Formulate Plans	2.9	2.91	2	2.26
Acquire Job Skills	3.56	2.67	6	2.66
Update Job Skills	1.44	1.16	2.21
Maintain License	1.23	.64	0.6
Educational Development	2.64	1.77	8	2.65
Basic Skills	2.06	1.27	1.79
Credits for HSD/GE	6.27	4.21	2.61
Undecided	23.61	24.23	39	48.7
Unreported	2.22	30.89	0	2.17
Not Applicable	.01	0	0	0

 

Although the college has been severely affected by the state and district financial situation, the response of the college administration has been creative and committed to continuing to meet student needs. The college has sought and won alternative competitive funding, usually in the form of grants. The departments receiving grant funding range from the child development center to student services to biotechnology and other academic programs. The funding has been used to supplement staffing, provide services, enhance technology and provide much-needed supplies, equipment and other resources in order to define and meet student learning outcome goals.

Grants Awarded to Ventura College
2000-01 to 2003-04

Academic Year	Total of Grants Received
2003-2004 (to date)	$2,595,013
2002-2003	$3,078,604
2001-2002	$3,409,975
2000-2001	$2,600,586

The college is hopeful that this is the end of the cycle of economic depression for the state of California, and that the community colleges will be able to return to a more stable financial position. In the meantime, Ventura College continues to serve approximately 12,500 students per semester, with increasing numbers of graduates, and fewer staff, faculty and administrators pro rata than in past years.

Documentation for Introduction:

1. Ventura College, Office of Institutional Research, "Ventura College, Summary of Student Demographics - Spring 2004, Fall 2003, Fall 2002, Spring 2001, Spring 1998, Spring 1995"

2. VCCCD, Office of Institutional Research, "Student Headcount Enrollment, 4 th Week Profile, Spring 2003-Spring 2004 Comparison, Fall 2002 - Fall 2003 Comparison"

3. VCCCD, Office of Institutional Research, "FTES Summary, 1991-92 to 2002-03, Prepared October 31, 2003 .

4. VCCCD, Office of Institutional Research, "Students Enrolled by Selected Cities, Fall 1999 to Fall 2002", prepared July 2003.

5. Ventura College , Office of Institutional Research, "VC Students Graduating Between 1992 and 2002" (2003 information from Counseling Office, 2004 information estimated)

6. VCCCD, Office of Institutional Research, "Degrees and Certificates Awarded by College, Five Year Summary, 1998-99 to 2002-03", prepared March 2004.

7. County Demographic Data , U.S. Census Bureau, 2001 Supplementary Survey Profile for Ventura County , California

8. Lupin Economic and Demographic Information for Ventura County , California , Economic Profile, 2000-2001.

9. Ventura College , 1996 Accreditation Self-Study Report

10. California Department of Finance, Demographic Research Unit, Historical City, County, and State Population Estimates, 1991-2000, with 1990 and 2000 Census Counts

11. California Department of Finance, Demographic Research Unit, Population Estimates for Cities and Counties, 2001-2004, with 2000 DRU Benchmark

12. United States Census Bureau, American Fact Finder, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics, 2000, Ventura County , California

13. VCCCD, Office of Institutional Research, Employee Information, Fall 2003 prepared 2/2004 and Spring 2004 prepared 4/2004

14. VCCCD, Office of Institutional Research, Employee Demographics, Fall 2003 prepared 2/2004 and Spring 2004 prepared 4/2004