Madera Community College was officially recognized Monday as a full community college by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors.
Madera Community College previously received initial accreditation in June, putting it on the path to become the state’s 116th community college.
“We are proud to welcome Madera Community College to the family of California community colleges,” said Tom Epstein, President of the Board of Governors, in a statement. “We congratulate the dedicated faculty and district leadership for providing this underserved area of the Central Valley with expanded learning opportunities to help more students achieve their educational goals.”
Madera Community College joins Fresno City College, Reedley College and Clovis Community college in the State Center Community College District as full community colleges.
After officially opening in 1996, Madera Community College now has about 5,600 students. In 2019, Angel Reyna was named the first on-campus president.
“This accomplishment is something that our community has been waiting for a long time and [is] much needed,” Reyna said in a statement. “It has been a collective and collaborative effort, and [I] look forward to the continued work to better serve our students as a college.
“As a new college we want to be an institution that is student and community centered, and provides equitable outcomes for each of our students, and to that end we commit towards transforming ourselves into an anti-racist institution while producing the future workforce our community needs.”
The state community college system projects Madera Community College’s service area to be one of the fastest-growing population centers in the Central Valley.
Over 80% of Madera Community College Center’s students are from historically underrepresented populations, and the school has been recognized as a Hispanic Serving Institution.
