Developing Grants
Background Information for Grant Applications
Grossmont College is a public, associate degree granting
institution, located in El Cajon, California. Part of the
Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District (GCCCD), it is one of
two colleges operating therein. Founded in 1961, the college has
educated diverse students from the district and the surrounding
region, in keeping with its vision of offering educational
excellence for a productive citizenry. The college mission is to
provide learning opportunities that are accessible by all, promote
student success, support harmonious campus and community
relationships, secure high quality staff, and promote standards of
accountability. Offering both college transfer and vocational
programs, the institution has served more than 15,000 students each
semester since 1974. Enrollment peaked in Fall 2002 with a student
body of 18,241, prior to statewide funding reductions for community
colleges.
Geographic area and population characteristics: The GCCCD is
situated in Eastern San Diego County, California. It includes four
major incorporated communities, El Cajon, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, and
Santee, and several unincorporated population centers adjacent to
them, as well as scattered rural communities. Among these population
centers are three of the largest of the 21 Native American
Reservations in San Diego County. The population of the District in
2000 was 567,102, 19% of that of the entire county. Several freeways
serve this population, including a major East-West Interstate
Highway, I-8. The southern boundary of the District is also the
international boundary with Mexico, comprising about 40 miles of
sparsely populated, wilderness and mountainous territory.
The population of the District includes significant numbers of
people of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. According to the
2000 Census, populations in the four incorporated communities
totaled 227,511, while that of the San Diego County totaled
2,911,468. While the populations in the four communities were
dominated by older whites, those under 18 years of age were
predominately of Hispanic, Black, American Indian, Asian, Hawaiian
and Pacific Islander, or other composition; these same trends were
apparent in San Diego County. Within the District’s diverse
populations, there were many whose first language was not American
English. The median ages in the four communities ranged from 32 –
37, while that of the County was 33.7. Population growth in the four
communities ranged between 0% to 7%, while the entire region
experienced a growth rate of 13%, during the previous decade.
Educational attainment of the populations in the four communities
who were 25 or older in 2000, revealed a range of 79% - 89% in those
who had completed high school or more and 15% - 28% who had
completed the baccalaureate. The region’s population attained high
school diplomas or more at the 83% level, while 30% had earned
bachelor’s degrees.
Projections for population growth between 2000 and 2030, range from
10% to 74% in the four communities, and 36% in the region. Projected
increases in housing units in the four communities will not keep
pace with projected population growth, since anticipated housing
unit growth between 2000 and 2030 ranges only from 4% to 24%,
following vacancy rates of 2 – 3% in 2000; the same is true of the
region, which has projections for the same period of population
growth of 38% and housing unit additions of 33%. In the four
communities in 2000, owner occupancy rates of housing units ranged
from 41% to 71%, with the populations having median household
incomes, ranging from $35,566 to $53,624;the District’s median
household income was $44,266. By contrast, in San Diego County,
owner occupancy rates of housing units were 55%, and the median
household income was $210,801. (All data available at SANDAG: San
Diego’s Regional Planning Agency
http://www.sandag.org)
In summary, the trends for the District include expanding
populations of greater youth and diversity, with lesser levels of
education than the county as a whole, living in more crowded
housing, and having less capacity to own housing, because of lower
levels of income than that earned by households in the county as a
whole.
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