Descriptive Backgrounds and Demographics
Geography and Population
Cañada College opened for instruction in September, 1968
with forty percent of its projected campus building in place.
County planners had looked for intense development and, hence,
a large population base, in nearby Woodside, Portola Valley
and Menlo Park. Neither they nor college planners could have
predicted the "slow-growth" climate of the early seventies.
Cañada has been left to draw from sixty percent of its
projected population base.
In a broad sense, the community served by Cañada College is the entire 454 square miles of San Mateo County with a population estimated in 1998 to be 715,400. More specifically defined, the primary community is the southern portion of the county which has a population 320,000. The cities/towns in the South County and their respective populations are Atherton (7,800), East Palo Alto (25,450), Menlo Park (34,600), Portola Valley (4,550), Redwood City (76,600), San Carlos (28,500), and Woodside (5,625). Approximately 75 percent of Cañada's students come from the following four areas: Redwood City/Woodside (41 percent), Menlo Park/Palo Alto/Atherton/Portola Valley (16 percent), San Carlos (10 percent) and San Mateo (8 percent).
The Association of Bay Area Governments projects that the San Mateo County population will continue to increase through the year 2005 at the same slow but steady rate that has prevailed over the last decade. Since 1988 the total county's population has increased by only 11.9 percent. The South County has grown at a faster rate than the overall county (14.8 percent), primarily due to growth in Redwood City and East Palo Alto. Hispanics are the largest ethnic minority in south San Mateo County.
Enrollments
The overall college enrollment declined in the early to mid-nineties
but the decline has leveled off during the last two years. In
fall, 2000, the first census enrollment was 5,332. Hispanics
are the fastest growing ethnic group on campus and now constitute
29 percent of students. African-Americans constitute 4 percent
of students; Asians 9%; and Filipinos just 2%. The White population
has been steadily declining and now stands at 51%. Females constitute
64% percent of the students in Fall, 2000.
Staffing
Regular faculty numbered 81 FTE in Fall, 2000, compared with
71 FTE in Fall, 1999. Adjunct faculty numbered 56.7 FTE in Fall,
2000 compared with 63.25 FTE in Fall, 1999. There are 187 adjunct
faculty employed in Fall 2000. The allocation for Classified
staff was 60.43 FTE in Fall, 2000. Administrators numbered eight
in Fall, 2000.
