BaccalaureatePublicHSI

Bakersfield College

Bakersfield, California·Public, 4-year or above·Far West·bakersfieldcollege.edu
Acceptance
Open admission
—
6-yr Graduation
21%
+10.5pp vs Baccalaureate
Total enrollment
30,746
peer median 18,258
Avg net price
$14,621
+$11k vs Baccalaureate
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AboutOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsAthleticsCampus safetyFacultyPeersIR OfficeDocumentsGrantsAlumni

About

Bakersfield College (BC) is a public community college in Bakersfield, California, United States. BC serves about 31,000 students each semester or 46,500 annually, and offers associate degrees, certificate programs, and is one of fifteen California Community Colleges offering a baccalaureate degree. It is part of the Kern Community College District (KCCD), which is itself part of the California Community Colleges system.

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

IPEDS
Overall completion
21%+10.5pp vs Baccalaureate
4-year graduation
50%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
50%

Pell equity

0.8pp gap
Pell recipients
21%277 of 1317
Non-Pell (all)
20%176 of 871
No Federal Aid
20%176 of 871

Pell and non-Pell students graduate at nearly identical rates, a notably small equity gap.

Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

FVT/GE

Of 146 Title IV programs, 7 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 138 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
146
Passing
7
4.8% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
1
0.7% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.7%
+0.1pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

146programs
  • Passing7 · 4.8%
  • No Data138 · 94.5%
  • Failing1 · 0.7%

Severity spectrum

Critical
1
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
1
Watch
1
Safe
5
No data
138

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

8
Human Development Family Studies and Related Services
Associate Degree · Family And Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences
-21.1%
$28,483 vs $36,082
Psychology General
Associate Degree · Psychology
+7.3%
$38,723 vs $36,082
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Associate Degree · Security And Protective Services
+12.8%
$40,694 vs $36,082
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
+26.3%
$45,584 vs $36,082
Sociology
Associate Degree · Social Sciences
+27.0%
$45,822 vs $36,082
Business/Commerce General
Associate Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+41.6%
$51,090 vs $36,082
Education General
Associate Degree · Education
+57.0%
$56,662 vs $36,082
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+186.8%
$103,477 vs $36,082

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

1
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
10%
$10,500 debt · $103,477 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges

Accredited since 1952Next review Oct 2025

Programmatic accreditations · 5

Action history · 11

  1. May 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology · Radiologic Technology (RAD) - Programs for radiographers
  2. Oct 2024Initial Accreditation
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (ADNUR) - Associate degree programs
  3. Oct 2023Initial Accreditation
    American Physical Therapy Association, Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education · Physical Therapy (PTA) - Programs for the physical therapist assistant
  4. Jan 2023Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
  5. Sep 2022Grant Substantive Change: Degree
    Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

College Scorecard

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$14,493
$30–48k$14,538
$48–75k$15,011
$75–110k$17,746
$110k+—

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price
$14,621
+$10,761vs Baccalaureate median $3,860
Federal loans
0.8%
In-state tuition
$1,430
Out-of-state
$11,300

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2024–25, 13,076 students received $61.7M in Pell grants, alongside $2.4M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
13,076
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$61.7M
$61,675,064 total
Direct Loans
$2.4M
606 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

9k
’20
8k
’21
10k
’22
12k
’23
13k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$975K
307 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$1.3M
293 loan awards
Parent PLUS$104K
6 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Cohort Default Rate

Of 237 borrowers who entered repayment, 6 (2.5%) defaulted within three years — above the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
2.5%
+0.2pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
237
Defaulted
6
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
15.1%
2017
16.3%
2018
10.4%
2019
2.5%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Bakersfield College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs106
UndergraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

4,140 total completions
01Liberal Arts
2,20953.4%
02Psychology
3719.0%
03Business
2977.2%
04Health Professions
2516.1%
05Biological Sciences
2496.0%
06Security/Protective
2004.8%
07Social Sciences
1684.1%
08Agriculture
1503.6%
09Education
1243.0%
10Visual/Performing Arts
1212.9%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

IPEDS
Fall total
30,746
12-mo unduplicated
43,842
Undergraduate
43,842
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
44%19,345
Women
56%24,497

Race / ethnicity composition

Hispanic
71.1%
White
15.1%
Black
5.5%
Asian
3.8%
Two or more
3.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.3%
Unknown
0.3%
Non-resident
0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.1%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

EADA
Athletes
423
275 M · 148 W
Women athletes
35.0%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$4.5M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$0
$0
Head-coach salaries
$40K
$30K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 13

Football
91 M · —
$1.1M
Soccer
39 M · 24 W
$488K
Track and Field (Outdoor)
30 M · 15 W
$66K
Wrestling
26 M · 11 W
$142K
Baseball
36 M · —
$274K
Basketball
16 M · 15 W
$538K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Clery Act
Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.99
30 offenses · 30,410 students

3-year trend

0.572 yrs ago1.411 yr ago0.99Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
82
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
8
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
1
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Motor vehicle theft
16
Arson
5
Aggravated assault
5
Burglary
3
Fondling
1

By location

30total
  • On campus28
  • Non-campus1
  • Public property1

VAWA offenses

3
Domestic violence
1
Dating violence
1
Stalking
5 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons11
Drugs61
Liquor90

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Data quality: 1 report was later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

IPEDS
Student-to-faculty
31.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
372

Bakersfield College vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Bakersfield College selected for federal comparison reporting.

IPEDS
GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectBakersfield College
21%Open admission30,746$14,621Baccalaureate
Antelope Valley Community College District
—Open admission13,532$3,860Baccalaureate
Cerritos College
—Open admission21,859$2,424Community College
College of the Sequoias
—Open admission14,494$480Community College
Fresno City College
—Open admission28,071$8,069Community College
Grossmont College
—Open admission14,440$5,311Community College
Merced College
—Open admission12,472$5,040Community College
Modesto Junior College
0%Open admission18,258$2,818Baccalaureate
San Joaquin Delta College
—Open admission20,969$2,407Community College
Peer group median11%—18,258$3,860

Institutions like Bakersfield College

Explore the federal data for institutions in Bakersfield College's comparison group.

IPEDS

Bakersfield College Institutional Research office

The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.

Office
Office of Institutional Effectiveness
Email
research [at] bakersfieldcollege.edu
Phone
661-395-4662
Address
Panorama Campus (Main), 1801 Panorama Drive, Bakersfield, CA 93305

Institutional Effectiveness (IE) supports Bakersfield College's Mission, Vision, and Values through its commitment to providing quality, accessible, and relevant data and information to our students, staff, the communities we serve, and the public.

Visit IR office page
Team
5 members
  • Craig Hayward
  • Grace Commiso
  • Robert Dean
  • Patsy Garcia
  • Sooyeon Kim
    Dean

Reports & documents (3)

Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

Grants & funding (1)

Federal grant awards and open funding opportunities awarded to this institution.

USA Spending

Notable alumni of Bakersfield College (10)

A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.

  • Louie Cruz Beltran
    Music
  • Robert Beltran
    Entertainment
  • Sharon Chatman
    Judiciary
  • Ric Drasin
    Entertainment and Sports
  • Jean Fuller
    Politics
  • Harvey Hall
    Politics
  • Kevin Harvick
    Sports
  • Guy Madison
    Entertainment
  • Michael Rubio
    Politics
  • Delbert E. Wong
    Judiciary

Frequently asked questions about Bakersfield College

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Bakersfield College.

What is the acceptance rate at Bakersfield College?

Bakersfield College does not have a reported acceptance rate. This institution has an open admission policy: it admits all applicants who meet basic requirements, so it does not report a selective admit rate.

What is the graduation rate at Bakersfield College?

Bakersfield College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 21% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Bakersfield College?

Bakersfield College reports a total enrollment of 30,746 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Bakersfield College?

The average net price at Bakersfield College is $14,621 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

Where is Bakersfield College located?

Bakersfield College is located in Bakersfield, California 93305-1299.

Who runs Institutional Research at Bakersfield College?

Bakersfield College's IR work is done by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness.

About the data on this page

Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.

IPEDSFall 2025–26 release, published July 28, 2026
Enrollment, completions, graduation rates, tuition, financial aid, staffing, and finance for every U.S. institution in federal student aid programs.
National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education
College ScorecardJune 10, 2026 release (merged 2025–26 files)
Institution and field-of-study costs, graduate earnings, debt, completion, and admissions outcomes compiled from federal aid records, tax data, and IPEDS.
U.S. Department of Education
FVT/GE program performanceProvisional preview, May 18, 2026 release
Program-level debt-to-earnings and earnings-premium measures behind the FVT/GE and STATS accountability frameworks.
U.S. Department of Education
DAPIP accreditationContinuously refreshed
Accreditation status for institutions and programs, reported by recognized accrediting agencies.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Federal Pell Grant & loan volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
Pell Grant and Direct Loan recipient counts, award amounts, and disbursement volume by institution and award year.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Cohort Default RatesFY 2022 official rates
Institution-level federal student loan default rates, measuring borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Equity in Athletics (EADA)Academic year 2024–25
Athletics participation, coaching, revenues, and expenses by sport and gender for Title IV institutions.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Campus Safety & SecurityData through reporting year 2024
Criminal offenses, arrests, disciplinary actions, VAWA offenses, and fire statistics reported by campus under the Clery Act.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Last reviewed July 2026All data sources & release dates →

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