Local Community Colleges Ranked Among Best in State, Nation

NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release: August 15, 2024

For further information contact:
Ryan Brown: Phone: 408-531-6172 | Email: ryan.brown@sjeccd.edu 

Local Community Colleges Ranked Among Best in State, Nation

(San Jose, Calif.) — According to a new analysis conducted by WalletHub, Evergreen Valley College and San José City College rank among the best community colleges not only in California, but across the nation as well.

Based on the WalletHub research, which compared more than 650 community colleges across 18 metrics designed to measure cost, quality of education, and career outcomes, Evergreen Valley College (EVC) ranks No. 8 in California and No. 35 in the country while San José City College (SJCC) ranks No. 15 in California and No. 71 in the United States.

“These rankings, while not necessarily comprehensive, give us a baseline by which we can compare our performance in certain areas against our peers in California and across the country,” said Dr. Beatriz Chaidez, San José – Evergreen Community College District chancellor. “Seeing our hard work quantified in this way is both encouraging and gives us a target to aim for as we work to improve the educational services we provide to our students and our community.”

The WalletHub study analyzed American Association of Community Colleges member institutions and evaluated them using 18 individual metrics in three key categories: cost and financing, education outcomes, and career outcomes. Colleges were then graded on a 100-point scale with EVC receiving a grade of 64.97 and SJCC receiving a grade of 63.47.

The highest-rated college in California, Irvine Valley College, received a ranking of 67.48 while the highest-rated college in the nation, Manhattan Area Technical College, received a ranking of 70.63.

Researchers also ranked statewide community college systems, with California ranking No. 17 among all US states.