College of the Desert kicks off fall semester

It's the first day of classes at College of the Desert. The 2024-2025 school year will welcome 14,000 students across 5 campuses.

"We're excited to welcome students back, we have been working on taking their feedback and that was why we launched the welcome day event last Friday," said Nicholas Robles, the PIO for the college. "We are also looking for ways to expand the student experience."

Since the pandemic, California Community Colleges have struggled with enrollment. At its lowest point after the beginning of the pandemic, California Community Colleges lost more than 400,000 students. That's an 18.5% drop compared to the 2018-2019 academic year. And that's a 30 year low.

College of the Desert saw a decline in student enrollment after the pandemic hit. In the 2019-2020 school year, the college had over 10,600 full-time equivalent (FTE) students. However, enrollment dropped to just 8,245 FTE students in the 2020-2021 school year, marking a significant decrease.

Since the pandemic, the college has seen a steady increase in FTE student enrollment. In the 2023-2024 school year, they had more than 9,200 FTE students across their campuses.

The college is working hard to provide students with the tools they need for a well rounded educational experience. They're also finding ways to make college more affordable for students.

College of the Desert is introducing new programs like "Rodney the Roadrunner," an AI program, and a $5 textbook program. And transportation options will continue this year. The Roadrunner Express will pick up students and drop them off on COD campuses for free.

If you are interested in becoming a student, College of the Desert is still accepting for their fast track courses. Those start in 4 weeks.