Berkeley City College Named Pathway Champion of Transfer Equity

Berkeley City College (BCC) has been recognized as a 2025 Pathway Champion of Transfer Equity by the Campaign for College Opportunity (CCO), earning honors in two categories:

1. California Community Colleges Pathway Champion of Transfer – Associate Degrees for Transfer (ADT) as a Percentage of All Associate Degrees Awarded
2. California Community College Transfer Champion for Black Students

The first category is for the percentage of total associate degrees awarded that were an Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT). BCC’s rate was 72%, finishing first overall among community colleges and making BCC the only college to break the 70% mark. The CCO uses award data reported to the state by colleges to determine the percentages.

The second is an equity award specifically for Black students. It uses the same ADT% metric but requires colleges to have an ADT% for Black students that is equal to or higher than that of other students. The ADT% for Black students at BCC was also 72%, meaning there is no gap between the rate for Black students and the overall campus rate.

Trendlines reached out to the CCO to learn more about the methodology used to place schools for these awards. The CCO uses the Percentage Point Gap (PPG) methodology, where rates for subgroups are compared to a collegewide average of students who do not fall into that subgroup. They then calculate the percentage of associate degree earners who received ADTs among non-Black students and compare it to the percentage among Black students. Colleges where Black graduates earn ADTs at higher rates than other students will have a positive value.

To be eligible for an award, colleges will have to meet each of the following benchmarks:

1. Have awarded at least 10 ADTs to Black/ Latinx students.
2. Have a college-wide rate of ADTs as a share of total associates degrees awarded of above 65%
3. Have a PPG rate above -1 for Black/Latinx Students, meaning Black/Latinx graduates are earning ADTs at rates not more than 1% below the college-wide average of all other students.

The recognition from this award is the result of years of work by the Curriculum Committee and Curriculum Specialist Nancy Cayton to develop and adopt programs to offer an ADT, dedicated counselors and faculty guiding students to earn degrees, and the support of the Career and Transfer Center assisting students with the application process.