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The Laney College campus in Oakland in May 2025.<\/p>\n
Jessica Christian\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
Laney and Merritt colleges, the two largest schools in the East Bay\u2019s Peralta Community College District, will merge next year and become \u201cOakland City College\u201d as part of a massive transformation aimed at halting a steep dropout rate among\u00a0 students enrolled across dozens of degree programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By fall 2027, the sprawling four-school Peralta college district of about 16,000\u00a0 students is expected to become three schools \u2014 Oakland City College, Berkeley City College and the College of Alameda \u2014 under the efficiency plan endorsed Tuesday night by the district\u2019s Board of Trustees.<\/p>\n
Peralta\u2019s Chancellor Tammeil Gilkerson described a districtwide metamorphosis with a new focus on getting students to finish school. The plan adds more evening, weekend and online classes, as well as streamlined enrollment systems for all students \u2014 including those who want to take college classes while still in high school<\/a>, she told the trustees.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Gilkerson first presented the idea<\/a> for the merged Oakland City College a year ago and said the overall concept<\/a> has since been developed and refined by committees of faculty, staff and students.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t continue to ask students to absorb the consequences of our financial and organizational challenges,\u201d Gilkerson told the trustees, noting that the Peralta district has traditionally responded to declining enrollment and fiscal emergencies by slashing its budget \u2014 cutting nearly $28 million in recent years \u2014 and putting out fires as they arise without a comprehensive improvement plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n But that isn\u2019t working, she said. \u201cWe can\u2019t reduce our way forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Merging Laney and Merritt colleges will eliminate redundant administrative services and courses, she said. Neither is expected to close, but will become campuses of the new Oakland City College. In addition, establishing \u201cclear, coordinated onboarding across all campuses, aligning schedules and access to high-demand courses\u201d will allow the district to focus on getting students to graduate.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Vice Chancellor Tina Vasconcellos offered the shocking statistic that 90% of Peralta students enrolled in a subset of degree programs neither completed their associate\u2019s degree nor transferred to a four-year college.\u00a0<\/p>\n Vasconcellos discovered the dropout rate when she studied 26 degree programs that were duplicated across the college district.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really hard to look at,\u201d she said, noting that she hadn\u2019t realized the problem\u00a0 until she immersed herself in the data of the overlapping programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n