STOCKTON — San Joaquin Delta College has been named the fourth-best community college in the nation by personal finance website WalletHub, news that drives home the College’s low cost and high quality.
WalletHub’s analysis ranked more than 700 community colleges based on 19 key indicators. Delta ranked fourth nationally and first in California.
“We thank WalletHub for their work in identifying the best colleges in the nation and for recognizing Delta College among those best colleges,” said Omid Pourzanjani, Delta’s superintendent/president. “Delta College truly embodies the spirit of ‘having the whole village support each student,’ and we are continually looking for ways to improve our educational quality, processes and practices.”
WalletHub identified value as a key consideration in its rankings. With tuition rates rising, many would-be students are unable to afford a university education.
“Students who earn their general-education credits at a community college before transferring to an in-state public four-year university can potentially save a lot of money,” WalletHub noted.
Indeed, most students at Delta qualify for fee waivers and pay no tuition at all.
Community colleges in general also provide more flexible schedules, smaller class sizes and rigorous coursework, WalletHub found. The publication’s rankings take into account a wide range of factors from fees to student-faculty ratios and graduation rates.
The WalletHub study comes the same week as a record $368,000 in scholarship money will be awarded to hundreds of Delta College students, thanks in part to the new Stockton Scholars program.
Community donors have always been exceptionally generous in helping Delta students fulfill their dreams of obtaining a college education.
Starting this year, Stockton Scholars will allow even more students to receive assistance. The $368,000 in total awards is a substantial increase from $225,000 last year.
The total number of scholarships now stands at nearly 670, an increase from the roughly 380 awards given out last year.
“We are exceedingly grateful to our faithful donors and to those who are contributing for the first time,” said Dr. Omid Pourzanjani, superintendent/president of Delta. “We are also grateful for the Stockton Scholars program, new to Delta this year, which provides eligible Stockton Unified School District students with $500 per year for two years to cover their college expenses.”
Registration for Delta College’s Fall Semester starts on Monday, Aug. 26.
Established in 1963, Delta College serves over 20,000 students at its campuses in Stockton and Mountain House, as well as online and at satellite facilities across the region. For more information, visit www.deltacollege.edu.
