Hartnell Community College finds itself below statewide average for transfers

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) - CalMatters says California wants more students from community colleges to transfer to four-year schools.

Numbers from CalMatters show a goal was set in 2017 to get more students into four-year schools.

From 89-thousand to more than 120-thousand by 2022.

For students like Jane Hernandez, the goal was to one day attend a four-year school.

"As a first-generation student, I came not knowing what to do here. I was very, very lost. I was just, you know, I was tired of working in the fields, I was tired," says Jane Hernandez, a student who transferred from Hartnell.

Hernandez transferred from Hartnell to Stanford in 2020. She says attending Hartnell played a huge role in getting accepted.

"I believe that every person that works here really works to serve students," says Hernandez.

99,000 community college students transferred to a UC or Cal State in 2021, which was below the goal.

Belen Gonzales is the Director of Career and Transfer for Hartnell, she has an idea of why the goal was not met.

"I definitely think the pandemic had a lot to do with it," said Belen Gonzales.

In 2021, on average, 9.9% of community college students transferred.

Hartnell College is slightly below the state average at 9.1% of students transferring.

In comparison, a neighboring community college, Cabrillo College has a 10.1% transfer rate.

"I think a lot of our students come to heart now with a lot of different goals in mind. And transfer is always not that number one goal," said Gonzales.

In the report from CalMatters, they highlighted that community colleges in rural areas, with first-generation students and low-income students, saw fewer transfer levels.

According to Hartnell, 64% are low-income students, and 42% are first-generation students. There were 13,033 students in the 2021-2022 school year.

The school plans on combining its career and transfer center into one so students can explore more options. Students can expect to see that change when they come back to campus in the fall on August 28th.