Community CollegePublicHSI

Cerro Coso Community College

Ridgecrest, California·Public, 2-year·Far West·cerrocoso.edu
6-yr Graduation
25%
—
Total enrollment
5,549
peer median 4,345
Avg net price
$6,078
-$1.5k vs Community College
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AboutOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsAthleticsCampus safetyFacultyPeersIR OfficeDocuments

About

Cerro Coso Community College is a public community college in the Eastern Sierra region of Southern California. It was established in 1973 as a separate college within the Kern Community College District. The college offers traditional and online courses and two-year degrees. The college serves an area of approximately 18,000-square-miles. Cerro Coso has five instructional sites: Eastern Sierra Center Bishop and Mammoth Lakes, Indian Wells Valley, Kern River Valley, and South Kern. The college also has an Incarcerated Student Education Program in two locations, the California City Correctional Facility and Tehachapi California Correctional Institution.

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

IPEDS
Overall completion
25%
Full-time retention
27%

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 69 Title IV programs, 0 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 69 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
69
Passing
0
0.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

69programs
  • Passing0 · 0.0%
  • No Data69 · 100.0%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
0
No data
69

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.

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 1975Next review Oct 2025

Action history · 5

  1. May 2023Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
  2. May 2021Approved for Correspondence Education
    Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
  3. Jan 2019Renewal of Accreditation
    Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
  4. Jan 2019Renewal of Accreditation
    Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
  5. Feb 2013Renewal of Accreditation
    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$5,151
$30–48k$5,016
$48–75k$8,352
$75–110k$11,915
$110k+—

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

Avg net price
$6,078
-$1,510vs Community College median $7,589
Federal loans
1.0%
In-state tuition
$1,384
Out-of-state
$10,264

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, 1,297 students received $5.6M in Pell grants, alongside $947K in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
1,297
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$5.6M
$5,631,960 total
Direct Loans
$947K
219 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

1k
’20
1k
’21
1k
’22
2k
’23
1k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$391K
111 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$445K
101 loan awards
Parent PLUS$111K
7 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 2 borrowers who entered repayment, 0 (0.0%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.0%
-2.3pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
2
Defaulted
0
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2013
20.0%
2014
20.0%
2015
11.1%
2019
0.0%
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 Cerro Coso Community College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs39
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

515 total completions
01Liberal Arts
32162.3%
02Computer Sciences
397.6%
03Business
367.0%
04Psychology
275.2%
05Health Professions
193.7%
06Security/Protective
193.7%
07Family/Consumer Sci
173.3%
08Mathematics
132.5%
09Social Sciences
122.3%
10Legal Professions
122.3%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

IPEDS
Fall total
5,549
12-mo unduplicated
9,239
Undergraduate
9,239
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
42%3,850
Women
58%5,389

Race / ethnicity composition

Hispanic
44.2%
White
38.2%
Black
6.8%
Two or more
4.2%
Asian
4.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native
1.6%
Unknown
0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.3%
Non-resident
0.0%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

EADA
Athletes
67
56 M · 11 W
Women athletes
16.4%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$697K
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$2K
$35
Head-coach salaries
$35K
$25K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 4

Baseball
41 M · —
$173K
Basketball
15 M · —
$125K
Volleyball
— · 9 W
$51K
Cross Country
— · 2 W
$24K

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
0.00
0 offenses · 4,919 students

3-year trend

0.002 yrs ago0.001 yr ago0.00Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
0
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
1
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

No criminal offenses reported.

By location

0total

    VAWA offenses

    0
    Domestic violence
    0
    Dating violence
    1
    Stalking
    1 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

    Hate crimes by bias

    No hate crimes reported.

    Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

    CategoryArrestsReferrals
    Weapons00
    Drugs00
    Liquor00

    Residence-hall fires

    No residence-hall fires reported.

    Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

    Student-faculty ratio

    Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

    IPEDS
    Student-to-faculty
    24.0:1
    Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
    66

    Cerro Coso Community College vs Peer comparison

    The peer institutions Cerro Coso Community 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
    SubjectCerro Coso Community College
    		25%—5,549$6,078Community College
    Barstow Community College
    		——3,226$12,347Community College
    Canada College
    		——6,625$10Community College
    College of Marin
    		——4,838$15,517Community College
    Lake Tahoe Community College
    		——4,040$10,975Community College
    Lassen Community College
    		——2,038$7,677Community College
    Mendocino College
    		——4,225$7,500Community College
    Oxnard College
    		——7,361$659Community College
    Palo Verde College
    		——3,833$10,543Community College
    Taft College
    		——4,464$2,699Community College
    Peer group median25%—4,345$7,589

    Cerro Coso Community College Institutional Research office

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

    Office
    Office of Institutional Research
    Email
    research [at] cerrocoso.edu
    Phone
    760-384-6105
    Address
    3000 College Heights Blvd Ridgecrest, CA 93555

    The Office of Institutional Research at Cerro Coso Community College strives to support the college's mission and commitment to academic learning and student success by providing quality, accessible, and relevant information to facilitate decision-making and planning processes, enhance institutional effectiveness, and promote a culture of evidence-based inquiry.

    Visit IR office page
    Team
    1 member
    • Jaclyn Kessler
      Director, Institutional Research

    Reports & documents (4)

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

    Frequently asked questions about Cerro Coso Community College

    Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Cerro Coso Community College.

    What is the graduation rate at Cerro Coso Community College?

    Cerro Coso Community College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 25% per the latest IPEDS.

    How many students attend Cerro Coso Community College?

    Cerro Coso Community College reports a total enrollment of 5,549 students per the latest IPEDS.

    What is the average net price at Cerro Coso Community College?

    The average net price at Cerro Coso Community College is $6,078 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

    Where is Cerro Coso Community College located?

    Cerro Coso Community College is located in Ridgecrest, California 93555-9571.

    Who runs Institutional Research at Cerro Coso Community College?

    Cerro Coso Community College's IR work is done by the Office of Institutional Research.

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