Mia Ruiz, dean of student success and support programs at Cuesta College’s North County Campus, said that during the fall 2023 semester, the campus saw 23 percent uptick in enrollment.
“I think that’s all due to a real collaboration with our faculty and our leadership, also bringing back more in-person courses to our campus,” Ruiz said. “Really enhancing not only student engagement to build a sense of community for our North County students, but also providing them with that in-person academic support with different strategies. So I think all those together have really helped to increase our enrollment.”
Ruiz said that some of the more popular classes have been part of the school’s vocational programs, including the culinary, agriculture plant science, and nursing programs. The campus plans to continue focusing on increasing those vocational classes, she said.
“Where we really want to see opportunities for North County growth is really in our vocational education by really looking at different trade industries and how possibly some more certificate programs can serve our North County community,” she said. “That’s where we see real growth potential for the future of this campus.”
While Cuesta College’s main campus might be appealing for the younger population of SLO County, Ruiz said that the North County Campus takes pride in being more suited for adults who might not have time to spend all day on a college campus and can only come during hours that are convenient for them.
“[We serve] definitely a different student demographic than you’re going to see in our San Luis Obispo campus. We have more working adults here and students that need those evening courses,” she said. “Also, students looking for more of those vocational certifications and general education preparedness for transfer.”
Cuesta College’s North County Campus staff pride themselves on caring about students’ support and connection to fellow classmates and professors, so having programs that make them feel seen and understood is a priority, Ruiz said.
“We’ve really enhanced our students’ access center and increased our tutoring, as well as developing workshops,” she said. “We even see students taking classes in San Luis Obispo coming to our North County Campus to utilize our resources.”
Ruiz said that some of the workshops include learning how to handle time management and test taking strategies to ensure a passing grade. The workshops are important because trying to get students involved on campus and make Cuesta College’s North County Campus feel like home is the main goal, she said.
“We’re really trying every week to make sure there’s something for students to engage in different ways and keep them on campus,” Ruiz said. “Getting them to know other students and building relationships with them to study or find support [is important].” Ī
This article appears in Nov 9-19, 2023.