Feather River College graduation by the numbers
By Kevin Trutna, Ed.D.
Superintendent/President
On Friday, May 21, Feather River College held its 51st annual Associate Degree graduation and 4th annual Bachelor’s Degree graduation ceremonies. Due to COVID and social distancing restrictions, the event was moved outside and held in front of the beautiful backdrop of the FRC campus in its spring glory. Newly named Dr. Joseph Brennan Stadium hosted the event and when the slight rain drizzle broke into sunshine highlighting white, puffy clouds as the ceremony started, you could not help but feel Dr. Brennan’s positive influence on the campus.
In total, FRC awarded 350 certificates and degrees. The details of the awards earned is interesting. A total of 199 associate degrees were earned, composed of 78 Associate of Arts (AA) degrees, 62 Associate of Arts-Transfer (AA-T) degrees, 48 Associate of Science (AS) degrees, and 11 Associate of Science-Transfer (AS-T) degrees.
The specific transfer degrees are a decade-old partnership creation between the California State University (CSU) system and the California Community College Chancellor’s Office. When a student earns an AA-T or AS-T degree, they automatically gain acceptance to a CSU campus for the corresponding major with junior status. All coursework in the degree is accepted in whole as the degree was designed to promote seamless transfer from an associate degree to a like bachelor’s degree. From the data, 73 students choose these transfer specific degrees. The stand-alone AA or AS degrees still transfer, and may be preferable for some specific majors, UC transfer, private schools, or out-of-state universities. 126 students choose this route for their degree.
The Bachelor of Science in Equine and Ranch Management was earned by 14 individuals. As one of only 15 colleges in California authorized to offer a bachelor’s degree, FRC is pleased with the long-term success of our graduates after four graduating classes. Note that an additional 34 students earned one of the various associate degrees in Agriculture, many of whom are completing prerequisites to enter junior-level classes in the bachelor’s degree program.
What was the most popular degree earned during this pandemic year at FRC? Interestingly, the top four Associate Degrees earned centered on preparation for transferring to a four-year university. On top, with 46 students, was the Associate of Arts-Transfer degree in Sociology. Secondly, 36 students earned the Associate of Arts degree in General Studies: Social & Behavioral Sciences which is a degree that completes most of the undergraduate general education requirements of a large number of universities. In third with 29 students is the Associate of Arts in Fine Arts & Humanities, while 26 students earned the Associate in Science degree in University Studies for Agriculture.
Certificates are another integral part of the FRC curriculum. Far and away the most popular certificate earned (95 grads) was a Transfer Certificate that certifies students have met the CSU General Education Breadth requirements. The next three most popular certificates all came from the Business Department with Accounting (7 students), General Business (7) and Economics (6). Business Professor Rick Leonhardt was chosen by the student body as the graduation faculty speaker, reflecting interest in the Business Department and its growing enrollments.
Some interesting side notes are also found in the data. Incarcerated students made up 139 of the graduates, largely earning the AA-T Sociology and the AA Fine Arts & Humanities degrees.
A total of 144 students graduated with honors, with 163 students making the Dean’s list this past fall semester. Athletic teams were well represented in the academic achievement category where six teams earned a GPA greater than 3.0 average. These include Baseball (3.09 GPA), Beach Volleyball (3.48), Football (3.05), Softball (3.04), Volleyball (3.27), and Women’s Basketball (3.43).
The mission of FRC is to serve the community and provide educational opportunities for students who attend. The number of degrees and certificates earned during the pandemic year are slightly lower than previous years, as is to be expected. Nevertheless, the graduates show that transfer interests, the bachelor’s degree, and career and technical education degrees are all an important component to their future pursuits. FRC is proud to support the students who earned 350 degrees and certificates as part of their educational goal.
