Long Beach City College (LBCC) has regained “large college” status after declines caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Campus leadership and staff has worked hard to boost enrollment with comprehensive outreach campaigns, determined efforts to improve college completion, and the creation of an inclusive/anti-racist environment are among the many efforts that have led to LBCC being one of the few community colleges in California to recapture their pre-COVID enrollment numbers. In California, the state considers a community college to be large if it has at least 20,000 full-time equivalent students (FTES). Colleges with 10,000–20,000 FTES are considered medium, and colleges with fewer than 10,000 FTES are considered small.

“Returning to large college status is crucial for LBCC because it enables us to expand our resources, enhance our academic offerings, and better serve our diverse student population,” said Dr. Mike Muñoz, LBCC Superintendent-President. “Despite the national narrative questioning the utility and cost of education, our enrollment growth means increased access to education for our community, which will improve economic mobility and break cycles of generational poverty. This milestone reflects our commitment to providing exceptional education and support to our community, ensuring that every student has the opportunity to succeed and thrive.”

LBCC’s 2023-2024 academic year enrollment surged to more than 38,696 students (or 20,033 full-time equivalent students). In Fall 2023, LBCC saw a 10% increase in Black student enrollment and the highest number of new indirect matriculant students in credit classes in the last five years.

“Our ability to return to large college status ahead of schedule is a testament to the heroic efforts we’ve made to achieve clear and concrete post-pandemic goals,” said Vivian Malauulu, LBCC Board of Trustees President. “During my last term as Board President, and in the midst of various challenges, we committed to creating a caring and welcoming learning environment where everyone feels they belong. This achievement reflects the collective effort of our dedicated employees – from our outreach teams recruiting new students, to our faculty and classified staff – that ensured their success in the classroom and out future viability as a district.”

Key to LBCC’s impressive enrollment growth is an array of wraparound services including a Safe Parking Program for housing-insecure students that allows them to sleep in their vehicles on campus overnight, and a partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach and the Long Beach Unified School District that gives LBCC student parents the ability to enroll their school-aged children for free in LBCC’s trailblazing after-school/summer program. Other factors in enrollment growth include affordability and innovation. Thanks to the Long Beach College Promise, most students pay no tuition, and the LBCC Financial Aid team has helped distribute nearly $80 million to students during the 2022-2023 academic year alone. A flourishing dual-enrollment program allows high school students to take college courses at their high school campuses, and high transfer rates are sending LBCC graduates to some of the finest universities in the nation. The college’s award-winning “BeLong Beach” marketing campaign was also vital in attracting new students to LBCC.

Returning to its status as a large college status enables LBCC to secure greater funding from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office ($2 million annually), which can be then directed to additional student services and academic programs.

LBCC’s work received several awards including:

• The Campaign for College Opportunity awarded LBCC with the 2023 Equity Champions of Higher Education for working with intentionality to support Black students through the Associate Degree for Transfer
• Excelencia in Education recertified LBCC with the Seal of Excelencia in 2023
• The California Association of Black School Educators (CABSE) recognized the college for its groundbreaking leadership in advancing educational equity for Black and African American students with the prestigious CABSE Black EdCellence Award in 2023 
• The League for Innovation in the Community College awarded LBCC with the 2024 Innovation of the Year Award for the College’s efforts to improve students’ sense of belonging, which increased from 50% to 92%