Facts and Statistics
Pierce College Academic Programming
- 8 Direct Transfer Agreement Degrees (includes Major Related Programs (MRP)
- 25 Associate of Applied Science (AAS) and Associate of Applied Science -Transfer (AAS-T) Degrees
- 50 Certificates
- 6 Bachelor of Applied Science Degrees
- 6 Guided Pathways
2020-21 Student Academic Intent
- 68% Transfer Degree
- 17% Professional-Technical Degree or Certificate
- 10% Non-Award Seeking
- 5% Transitional Studies
Points of Pride
- Largest college district in Pierce County, more than 13,500 students annually.
- Recognized as an Achieving the Dream’s Leader College of Distinction and recipient of the Leah Meyer Austin Award recognizing organizational transformation and student success.
- United States Department of Education TRIO Student Support Services, TRIO Talent Search, and TRIO Upward Bound grant recipient.
- Dr. White, Chancellor and CEO, was awarded Campus Compact’s 2026 Eduardo J. Padrón Award for Presidential Leadership for a career spanning commitment to civic and community engagement.
- Recipient of the 2024 Pacific Region Equity Award from the Association of Community College Trustees.
- Student media publication, The Pinnacle, received two “Best in Show” Awards from the Associated Collegiate Press in 2024.
- Pierce College District was named one of the top 10 community colleges in the nation in 2019 and 2021 for the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, and was a top 25 semifinalist for 2023.
- Recipient of the 2022 Institution Award by the Council of College and Military Educators.
Student Achievement
Pierce College identifies expected outcomes and metrics for student achievement, including graduation, retention, completion, licensure, and measures of postgraduation success. The indicators of student achievement highlight our institution's efforts with dismantling areas of inequity for systemically non-dominant (Jenkins, 2018) students by disaggregating by race/ethnicity and sex.
Jenkins, D. (1995-Present). IST of an ISM: Systemically dominant” and “systemically non- Dominant": A critical lens to rethinking power, privilege, and inequity language. Share the Flame. Retrieved May 9, 2022, from https://www.shareflame.com/
Regional Benchmark Institutions
Pierce College uses several dashboards provided by the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) to benchmark our performance against regional peers. These dashboards encompass metrics such as enrollment, student progress, and completion.
We selected our regional benchmark institutions from the following characteristics: degree granting four-year, primarily associate's, Carnegie classification of Associate's Dominant, public and enrollment of a similar size.
The following are regional peer colleges that Pierce College uses to benchmark its metrics:
- Edmonds College (Lynnwood, WA)
- Green River College (Auburn, WA)
- Highline College (Des Moines, WA)
- Olympic College (Bremerton, WA)
- South Puget Sound Community College (Olympia, WA)
- Tacoma Community College (Tacoma, WA)
National Benchmark Institutions
Pierce College uses data provided by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to benchmark its performance against national peers. To receive federal student aid programs provided by the U.S. Department of Education, institutions are required to provide various metrics such as enrollment, completion, finances and tuition, and student financial aid. Pierce College uses the IPEDS Compare Institutions Tool to pull metrics of interest.
We selected our national benchmark institutions from the following characteristics: degree granting four-year, primarily associate's, Carnegie classification of Associate's Dominant, public and enrollment of a similar size.
The following are national peer colleges that Pierce College uses to benchmark its metrics:
- Lorain Country Community College (Elyria, OH)
- Solano Community College (Fairfield, CA)
- Truckee Meadows Community College (Reno, NV)
- West Los Angeles College (Culver City, CA)
- Cincinnati State Technical and Community College (Cincinnati, OH)
- Red Rocks Community College (Lakewood, CO)
Indicators of Student Achievement
Select the double arrow icon in the gray ribbon at the bottom of the Peer Institution Comparison Dashboard for a full screen view.
Note: Pierce College is on the quarter system.
Institutional Effectiveness
Pierce College is a mission-driven institution. In January 2025, the Board of Trustees adopted four Strategic Areas: Belonging, Advancing Student Success, Thriving Communities, and Institutional Sustainability. These Strategic Areas serve as the primary framework for defining and assessing mission fulfillment, guiding institutional planning and resource allocation, and supporting continuous improvement.
Each Strategic Area includes objectives and metrics used to measure progress and evaluate how effectively the College is fulfilling its mission.
Pierce College regularly publishes an Institutional Effectiveness Report and Scorecard that assess performance across the Strategic Areas. Together, these tools provide a snapshot of institutional effectiveness, highlight strengths and areas for improvement, and support informed decision-making.
The Board of Trustees monitors mission fulfillment through regular review of the Institutional Effectiveness Report and Scorecard. This information informs Board annual goal development.