SBCC PIO
By Santa Barbara City College
Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) recently attained the titles of No. 1 “Best Community College Campus in California” and No. 3 “Best Online Medical Billing & Coding Certificate Program in the U.S.” in the top college rankings recently announced by Niche.com (for 2024) and OnlineU (2023).
In total, SBCC attained the following Top 10 rankings by the two college ranking surveys:
No. 1 Best Community College Campus in California – Niche.com (for 2024)
No. 3 Best Medical Billing & Coding Certificate Program in the U.S. – Online U (2023)
No. 3 Best Overall Community College in California – Niche.com (for 2024)
No. 8 Best Overall Community College in the U.S. – Niche.com (for 2024)
No. 10 Best Online Community College in California – OnlineU (2023)
Niche.com’s “best” rankings for SBCC cited A+ scores in both location and campus life, along with A- scores in diversity and value. Niche also cited SBCC’s transfer admission guarantees that allow students to transfer directly to top schools like UCSB, UCSC and UCD.
“We are thrilled to have ranked so highly on Niche.com and OnlineU,” said SBCC Superintendent/President Erika Endrijonas, Ph.D. “Not only are we arguably the most beautiful community college in the nation — and one of the few campuses located steps from the beach — we also have award-winning programs run by student-centered faculty and staff.”
OnlineU’s ranking of SBCC for No. 3 “Best Online Medical Billing & Coding Certificate Program” — a national ranking — cited a median starting salary of $40,140 for program alumni, topped only by McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas ($77,234), and Madison Area Technical College in Madison, Wisconsin ($41,102). (Data for this survey is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard.)
“It is an honor to serve students and be recognized for an effective online program,” said Professor of Health Information Technology/Cancer Information Management (HIT/CIM) Lynette Williamson, Ed.D., MBA, RHIA, CCS, CPC, FAHIMA. “We strive here at Santa Barbara City College and in the HIT/CIM department to provide the best educational experience possible for our students with engaging online courses that not only meet the standards of the field but also spark life-long learning in this vital area of healthcare.”
In its No. 10 “Best Online Community College in California” ranking, OnlineU noted that advantages for students who want to earn online associate degrees at SBCC include state and national award winning teaching faculty (i.e. Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, the American Library Association and the Association of Community Colleges Trustees), in addition to its many student success programs. In addition, future employers are more likely to honor online degrees from SBCC due to its accreditation status. SBCC is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), a national accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
This article says the SBCC CAMPUS was rated as best in California. Not that they school was rated best. It is a dramatic site but really, that does not make it a best academic institution. SBCC puts stuff out like this to garner support from locals which is fine but they might be a bit more honest than to appear to distort facts and claim more than is so. For example, if one searches for best community college in CA one will come up with reviews making that claim with their own documentation–Pasadena CC, Mt. San Antonio, Taft, Foothill (ranked #1 by Niche by the way), De Anza, Irvine, and on and on. SBCC is on some lists and not on others. But the point should be that one can attend almost any CC in California and get a very good academic education which allows transfer to a four year school and puts the student in great shape to succeed.
Dude, what is you beef with SBCC? It’s a terrific school that offers great opportunities for students here and abroad, in addition to having competitive and high ranked sports for student athletes who didn’t make D1 or D2 right out of high school. Why can’t you leave it alone?
I guess I just don’t get why you think having pride in our successful and highly rated local secondary schools is “Chauvinistic (sic).” No one has said they’re the best, yet here you are knocking them down constantly and then trying to shame me for supporting them. Just weird, but you do you…..
No “beef” with SBCC “dude.” Just pointing out that SBCC is not that much different than other schools. We don’t have to embrace a Chauvinistic loyalty to “our” side. People who go to other schools get good educations, certainly many get better educations than we offer. Just have a broader view. And let’s work to keep our community college a local thing, this will relieve rents and make our city more habitable in general.
From what I read (Niche), Niche ranks SBCC #3 behind Foothill College (Los Altos) and Las Positas College (Livermore) for “Best Community College in CA,” 2024. The headline of this article states “SBCC RANKED NUMBER ONE COMMUNITY COLLEGE IN CALIFORNIA.” The first and second lines of the article state “(SBCC) recently attained the titles of No. 1 “Best Community College (Campus) in California – .” If we’re splitting hairs, college vs campus I believe CC needs to clarify what was bestowed on them.
Wow, way to go SBCC! It’s funny (well, sad more) how much hate SBCC and UCSB seem to get here. We should be proud of this!
I agree with others above who’ve read carefully and don’t 100% agree with this designation. SBCC should get its act together by refocusing on local students. “ #1 Community College in CA”? How does one even assess that? Best view?
The article does not say it is the “#1 Community College in CA,” despite your “careful reading” and “critical thinking.” Go read it again.
@4:13PM – answering “How…?” it seems this was what you were looking for:
“Niche.com’s “best” rankings for SBCC cited A+ scores in both location and campus life, along with A- scores in diversity and value. Niche also cited SBCC’s transfer admission guarantees …”
“SBCC’s transfer admission guarantees that allow students to transfer directly to top schools like UCSB” Not exactly true. UCSB lowers the GPA requirement for SBCC transfer students (when compared to applying for UCSB directly) but UCSB admission is not guaranteed.
FERNALD – If you meet the criteria, it is guaranteed at certain schools, UCSB being one of them.
“Students who meet and maintain stated admission and major requirements are guaranteed admission to a specific four-year college or university.” https://www.sbcc.edu/transferacademy/tag.php
TAG seems great. I wonder if it’s easier to get in with TAG than the usual way? Anyway, I see most schools don’t include engineering or CS as TAG options.
Was the wording in this article modified? The following is related to what I observed at 2:06 regarding this article:
From what I read (Niche), Niche ranks SBCC #3 behind Foothill College (Los Altos) and Las Positas College (Livermore) for “Best Community College in CA,” 2024. The headline of this article states “SBCC RANKED NUMBER ONE COMMUNITY COLLEGE IN CALIFORNIA.” The first and second lines of the article state “(SBCC) recently attained the titles of No. 1 “Best Community College (Campus) in California – .” If we’re splitting hairs, college vs campus I believe CC needs to clarify what was bestowed on them.
This award is for campus aesthetics NOT academics.