Merritt College Addresses Student Enrollment

On Wednesday, February 15, Merritt convened a joint Strategic Enrollment Management/Educational Master Planning Task Force meeting to examine and address some of the prevailing and persistent challenges we face in terms of the recruitment and retention of students. We recognize that COVID-19 has had an obvious impact on our enrollment numbers and the way our institution will need to function going forward (including devoting more attention and resources to support the mental health of our students). But we also concede that some of the challenges were endemic even before the pandemic. It is important for us to acknowledge troubling issues if we ever hope to surmount them… we cannot skip that critical step. With that said, a few of the areas that we will address are:

Recognition of Faculty & Staff

I would like to begin by acknowledging the collective efforts of the faculty, classified professional staff, and administrators to make the first few weeks of the semester (particularly the on-campus instruction and delivery of in-person student services) more successful than many had anticipated.

February is Black History Month, and the Peralta Colleges will be celebrating all month long. Merritt College President David M. Johnson, in an email to the Merritt Community, described the history of this month of remembrance:

Image: 2020 lunar new year celebration at Laney College

February 1^st marks the start of the year of the Tiger and we at Peralta are excited to celebrate the Lunar New Year. The Peralta community is made up of students, faculty, and staff with connections around the world. 

Welcome to the Spring 2022 semester at the Peralta Colleges!  We are so glad to have students back in person and online this semester for classes and student services.

“Substantial Progress” in All Areas Leads to Reclassification by ACCJC

OAKLAND, Calif., January 27, 2022  -- The Peralta Community College District (PCCD) today learned that Berkeley City College, College of Alameda, Laney College, and Merritt College have received upgraded accreditation status by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC).

Merritt College:  Spring 2022

Merritt College appreciates everyone who has demonstrated a genuine commitment to heading into the Spring 2022 academic term with a renewed sense of hope and purpose. The Merritt community is all well-aware of the challenges that everyone continues to face, so please know that the dedication, circumspection, and sacrifice that Merritt faculty, staff, and administrators are bringing to bear on behalf of our students and each other does not go unnoticed.

Merritt College Care Team

Merritt College is pleased to share that it has established a CARE team at the campus. Conceived of as a behavioral intervention initiative at many colleges across the country, the Merritt College CARE Team is committed to going beyond merely responding to reports of at-risk students displaying varying levels of disruptive, disturbed and/or distressed behaviors. 

Merritt College Partners with Oakland City Councilmember for Event

On Saturday, October 30^th Merritt College partnered with Oakland City Councilmember Loren Taylor to sponsor the Trunk or Treat in the East event at Liberation Lot in East Oakland (@73^rd Avenue and Foothill Blvd). 

On the weekend of October 22-24, 2021, Merritt College and the Oakland community celebrated Dr. Huey P. Newton and the the 55th anniversary of the Black Panther Party . Dr. Newton, who along with Bobby Seale co-founded the Black Panther Party in 1966, was honored with the unveiling of a bronze bust statue, on Sunday, October 24th, at the intersection of Mandela Parkway and Dr. Huey P. Newton Way...the place where the leader took his last breath.