San Diego Mesa College
About
San Diego Mesa College is a public community college in San Diego, California. It is part of San Diego Community College District and the California Community Colleges system. The college is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC).
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Non-Pell students graduate at a 9.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 165 Title IV programs, 13 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 152 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing13 · 7.9%
- No Data152 · 92.1%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
Severity spectrum
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.
Near the line (±5%)
Programs within five points of the pass line, one cohort year from flipping.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
Programmatic accreditations · 3
Action history · 7
- Jun 2024Renewal of AccreditationAccrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
- Feb 2024Renewal of AccreditationJoint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology · Radiologic Technology (RAD) - Programs for radiographers
- Apr 2021Grant Substantive Change: ProgramAmerican Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation · Dental Assisting (DA)
- Jul 2020Grant Substantive Change: ProgramAmerican Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation · Dental Assisting (DA)
- Mar 2020Renewal of AccreditationJoint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology · Radiologic Technology (RAD) - Programs for radiographers
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 5,053 students received $21.3M in Pell grants, alongside $2.8M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
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.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 307 borrowers who entered repayment, 19 (6.1%) defaulted within three years — above the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* 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.
Academic programs at San Diego Mesa College
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 12
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
- On campus4
- Public property2
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
San Diego Mesa College vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions San Diego Mesa College selected for federal comparison reporting.
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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectSan Diego Mesa College | 35% | — | 19,212 | — | Baccalaureate |
Antelope Valley Community College District | — | — | 13,532 | $8,263 | Baccalaureate |
Austin Community College District | — | — | 39,727 | $6,306 | Baccalaureate |
Bakersfield College | 50% | — | 30,746 | $4,751 | Baccalaureate |
Broward College | — | — | 30,728 | $20,077 | Baccalaureate |
College of Southern Nevada | — | — | 28,313 | $6,329 | Baccalaureate |
Collin County Community College District | — | — | 39,548 | $8,986 | Baccalaureate |
Cypress College | — | — | 15,924 | $4,683 | Baccalaureate |
Dallas College | — | — | 69,749 | $4,146 | Community College |
Front Range Community College | — | — | 21,970 | $10,854 | Community College |
Greenville Technical College | — | — | 11,999 | $6,246 | Community College |
Henry Ford College | — | — | 11,410 | $576 | Baccalaureate |
Hillsborough Community College | — | — | 21,483 | $4,929 | Community College |
Houston Community College | — | — | 53,253 | $6,738 | Community College |
Lone Star College System | — | — | 73,077 | $9,322 | Community College |
Miami Dade College | — | — | 58,941 | $5,929 | Baccalaureate |
Modesto Junior College | 0% | — | 18,258 | $10,176 | Baccalaureate |
Palm Beach State College | — | — | 25,916 | $9,832 | Baccalaureate |
Pikes Peak State College | — | — | 12,556 | $9,682 | Baccalaureate |
Rio Hondo College | — | — | 17,441 | $11,903 | Baccalaureate |
Rio Salado College | — | — | 18,841 | $8,764 | Community College |
Saint Louis Community College | — | — | 15,649 | $6,458 | Community College |
San Antonio College | — | — | 19,901 | $5,290 | Community College |
San Jacinto Community College | — | — | 31,812 | $7,540 | Community College |
Santa Ana College | — | — | 27,248 | $3,854 | Baccalaureate |
Santa Fe College | — | — | 12,758 | $11,154 | Baccalaureate |
Santa Monica College | 81% | — | 23,453 | $3,600 | Baccalaureate |
Sinclair Community College | — | — | 19,415 | $5,741 | Community College |
South Texas College | 20% | — | 27,431 | $1,291 | Baccalaureate |
Tyler Junior College | 0% | — | 11,885 | $9,924 | Baccalaureate |
Valencia College | — | — | 47,425 | $10,399 | Baccalaureate |
| Peer group median | 28% | — | 21,970 | $6,598 |
San Diego Mesa College Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
Our mission is to build a culture of inquiry and foster data-informed decision making by providing research services, expertise, and coaching to the Mesa campus community in support of the college’s institutional effectiveness.
Visit IR office page- Hai HoangDean, Institutional Effectiveness
Reports & documents (3)
Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.
- DashboardDashboardsdmesa.edu
- DFR reportIPEDS Data Feedback Report 20242024nces.ed.gov
- Strategic planRoadmap to Mesa20302023San Diego Mesa College has outlined a strategic plan named Roadmap to Mesa2030, aiming to guide the college's growth and development from 2024 to 2030. The plan is structured around five primary goals: Completion, Scholarship, Pathways and Partnerships, Stewardship, and Community. Progress will be monitored through defined strategic objectives and college-wide progress measures, with special attention paid to equity across different student demographics.sdmesa.edu
Grants & funding (5)
Federal grant awards and open funding opportunities awarded to this institution.
- opportunityCalGrantCalifornia Student Aid Commissioninstitution_site
- opportunityCalifornia College Promise GrantCalifornia Student Aid Commissioninstitution_site
- opportunityFederal Pell GrantU.S. Federal Governmentinstitution_site
- opportunityFederal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)U.S. Federal Governmentinstitution_site
- opportunityStudent Success Completion Grant (SSCG)California Student Aid Commissioninstitution_site
Notable alumni of San Diego Mesa College (13)
A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.
- Annette BeningActing
- Nick BussAthletics
- Darren ComeauxAthletics
- Sam DaghlesAthletics
- Billy EpplerSports Management
- Monique HendersonAthletics
- Greg MintonAthletics
- Tony MuserAthletics
- Jim PetersonAthletics
- Arnie RobinsonAthletics
- Félix SánchezAthletics
- Snow Tha ProductMusic
Frequently asked questions about San Diego Mesa College
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about San Diego Mesa College.
What is the graduation rate at San Diego Mesa College?
How many students attend San Diego Mesa College?
Where is San Diego Mesa College located?
Who runs Institutional Research at San Diego Mesa College?
Have a question this page can’t answer?
Ask Clema anything about San Diego Mesa College and its peers — plain language in, cited answers out, in minutes instead of days.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card