Institutional Comparison II: Fresno City College and University of Southern California

Angelica Quintero

Higher Education Administration and Leadership, California State University Fresno 

HEAL 220

Dr. Varaxy Yi

October 10, 2021

 Abstract

The purpose of this institutional comparison is to analyze the difference between a community

college and a private university in California (Fresno City College, a public community college,

and the University of Southern California, a private research university) and reveal the major

differences and opportunities that each institution has. This comparison examines and analyzes

both of the institutions’ websites, history and background, demographics, mission statements,

and current issues such as the COVID-19 vaccine. Consequently, the comparison of these two

institutions reveals the major differences between not only the institutional types but between the

geographical location throughout California. 

 Institutional Comparison II: Fresno City College and University of Southern California

When people think of California, they may think of cities such as Los Angeles with

movie stars and beautiful beaches. Although that is true, people forget about other places in

California, such as the Central Valley, the nation’s fruit basket full and providing the rest of the

world with food. Fresno, a prominent county in the Central Valley, is home to migrant

farmworkers and their children. Fresno and Los Angeles are two different places in California.

The two institutions I chose are Fresno City College (Public, Community College) and the

University of Southern California (USC) (Private, Research). 

One of the many reasons I chose these institutions is because of how I was introduced to

different institutions in high school. I was set on attending California State University, Fresno

(Fresno State); however, I was fully aware of Fresno City and USC’s existence as possible

colleges I could attend. I knew if anything were to happen with my enrollment at Fresno State, I

could easily enroll in Fresno City. On the other hand, I felt that USC was very out of my reach

from the moment I was introduced to other colleges. I knew it was expensive and acceptance

rates were low. As time progressed and I learned more about higher education, I still have the

same opinion about these two institutions and institutional types. I know community colleges are

great opportunities that many people can take, whereas, on the other hand, private universities

are out of reach to many individuals for many differing reasons. In this paper, I will compare and

contrast Fresno City and USC to display the differences within two different institutions in

California.

Identifying California Community and Private Institutions

Community College: Fresno City College

 Fresno City is a public community college in Fresno, California. According to the

Carnegie Classifications, Fresno City is an “Associate's College with Mixed Transfer/Career &

Technical-Mixed Traditional/Nontraditional” (n.d.). Fresno is the 5th largest city by population

in California with about half a million people; Fresno is the center of California’s largest cities,

which are San Francisco and Los Angeles (Population USA, 2021).

History and Background of Fresno City College

Fresno City was founded in 1910 as the first community college in California and second

in the nation. However, its history starts in 1907 with Fresno’s superintendent, C.L. McClane,

realizing that the Central Valley needed higher education. Fresno State, another prominent

college in the Central Valley, was still not yet established until 1911 and was only a Normal

School at the time (Fresno State, n.d.). Fresno Junior College's first class had 20 students and

three instructors (Fresno City College, n.d.-a). In 1921, Fresno Junior College combined with

Fresno Normal School, which is currently California State University, Fresno. Fresno City’s

campus moved several times until it finally settled on University Avenue near Fresno’s Tower

District and Fresno High Roeding area. 

Fresno City is still standing strong today serving over 30,000 students offering over 109

major courses, 118 Associate Degree programs, 84 Certificates of Achievement, 20 Associate

Degrees for Transfer, and 7 Certificates of Completion (State Center Community College

District n.d.).

Mission at Fresno City College

Fresno City is a page dedicated on their page to its mission, vision, core values, and

ethics. The mission statement is: “As California’s first community college, Fresno City College

provides quality, innovative educational programs and support services directed toward the
enhancement of student success, lifelong learning and the economic, social, and cultural

development of our students and region” (Fresno City College, n.d.-c). 

I found a few aspects that I know align with segments of Fresno City’s mission. Fresno

City is the home of the largest nursing program in California (About Fresno City College, n.d.-

a). The nursing program is a quality program and opens a door for potential students to start their

nursing careers with the affordability of a community college. 

Fresno City is also a gateway for their students to come to University of California (UC)

and California State University campuses (About Fresno City College, n.d.-a). This aligns with

the lines that encourage students' success. Moving past Fresno City is a goal for the institution,

whether that is into the workforce or onto a 4-year university. Fresno City, along with other

California community colleges, has set standards and roadmaps to move students into the future.

Private University: University of Southern California

University of Southern California (USC) is a doctoral university with very high research

activity, according to the Carnegie Classification (n.d.). USC itself is in the heart of California,

Los Angeles, a growing city with a population of 3,979,576 people, according to the United

States Census Bureau in 2019.

History and Background of University of Southern California

University of Southern California (USC) is known as one of the leading private research

universities in the world. The start of USC started with a dream of starting a university in the

area in the 1870s. In 1897, Judge Robert Mackey Widney formed a board of trustees and secured

a donation of 308 lots of land from members of the community. In 1880, USC opened its doors

to 53 students and 10 teachers. Now, USC is home to more than 48,000 students and 4,440 full-

time faculty (University of Southern California, n.d.-a). 

Mission at University of Southern California

Compared to Fresno City, USC’s mission statement is lengthy, 453 words. I will be

inserting certain parts of the mission statement to focus on important pieces that I can analyze

and compare. The opening paragraph of the mission statement is: 

The central mission of the University of Southern California is the development of

human beings and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the

human mind and spirit. The principal means by which our mission is accomplished are

teaching, research, artistic creation, professional practice, and selected forms of public

service (University of Southern California, par. #1).

This section focuses on the holistic view of building humans; I do like that it mentions not only

students but human beings in general. The next section focuses on priorities that faculty and staff

carry for their students. The second paragraph is:

Our first priority as faculty and staff is the education of our students, from freshmen to

postdoctorals, through a broad array of academic, professional, extracurricular and

athletic programs of the first rank. The integration of liberal and professional learning is

one of USC’s special strengths. We strive constantly for excellence in teaching

knowledge and skills to our students, while at the same time helping them to acquire

wisdom and insight, love of truth and beauty, moral discernment, understanding of self,

and respect and appreciation for others (University of Southern California, par. #2-c).

USC strives to serve all students through the many programs and decisions that they offer; they

also highlight their top strengths of liberal and professional learning. Again, they mention this

holistic view for their students.

 The mission statement states that high “quality” research is “fundamental” to their

mission (University of Southern California, par. #3-c). As mentioned before USC is a leading

research university. This ensures potential students that they are enrolling in a research

university. 

The next section states, “USC is pluralistic, welcoming outstanding men and women of

every race, creed and background” (University of Southern California, par. #4-c). At first glance,

I was excited to read this; however, the time has moved forward and there is space for the

language that is used. For example, people do not only identify themselves as a man or woman;

there is a spectrum of identifiers when it comes to gender. To fully and truly welcome students, I

believe that there should be room for change and improvement for this section of the mission

statement. 

Comparing California Community and Private Institutions

The two institutions seem to be polarizing opposites within Californian institutions in

higher education. Looking further into why I chose these two intuitions, I feel that Fresno City is

the starting line in higher education and USC is the finish line. 

Comparing Demographics

As mentioned earlier, both institutions are in California. It is important to mention when

comparing demographics, it is important to note that more students are local when attending

Fresno City when compared to USC. According to Newberry (2020), despite the pandemic, the

enrollment of California residents went from 39% to 44% in 2020. There also is a benefit of

California residents where families earning less than $80,000 would have their tuition

eliminated. Looking at the average income a California household would be $75,235 and for

Fresno County, the average household income is $53,969 and for Los Angeles County the
average household income is $68,044 (United States Census Bureau, 2019). With this, the

average person would have the opportunity to get free tuition for USC.

In California, 42.3% of people have their high school diploma; in Fresno, 47.0% of

people have their high school diploma, and in Los Angeles, 37.5% have their high school

diploma (Statistical Atlas n.d.).  In Fresno, 24.3% have some college, 7.8% have an associate’s

degree, and 13.8% have a bachelor’s degree. In Los Angeles, 17.9% have some college, 6.0%

have an associate’s degree, and 21.4% have a bachelor’s degree. 

With these numbers, we can see that those people in Los Angeles have more college

experience than those people in Fresno. One of the reasons that higher education is more

common in Los Angeles and southern California. In southern California, especially Los Angeles,

there are many more institutions, ranging from community colleges and universities, than the

Central Valley. The retention rates in the Central Valley are at a struggle for many reasons, one

of them being the lack of institutions in the Central Valley. 

Comparing Mission Statements

As mentioned, USC and Fresno City have very different mission statements. Fresno City

had an update to its mission statement page in 2017 by several groups, including the Classified

Senate, the Academic Senate, the ASG, the Management Council, CSEA, and the Board of

Trustees. On the other hand, the USC Board of Trustees adopted their mission statement in

February 1993. As I mentioned earlier, some parts of USC's mission statement are outdated.

Fresno City does a good job of updating its mission statement along with its vision, core values,

ethic statement, institution student learning outcomes, and strategic goals. The last update was in

2017 and is dated to go until 2021; there should be an update soon. Although there was not a

note of it on the page directly, due to COVID-19, there will most likely be a delay in the update
to the mission statement. I also believe that if there is an update to USC’s mission statement,

there should be updates by different boards, councils, etc. in order to get a wider perspective.

COVID-19 on Fresno City College and University of Southern California

Both institutions fall under California guidance and laws. The State of California (2021)

requires institutions to follow several guidelines for higher education. Some of these guidelines

include the requirement to follow the CDPH’s for face coverings, and employers are to adhere to

California’s COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards. Public colleges are

universities to follow from their communities which could be the UC’s, CSU’s and community

colleges would each fall under their guidelines (State of California, 2021). Private colleges and

universities are also following similar protocols. As of now, over 1,000 colleges and universities

require the COVID-19 vaccine for their students (BestColleges Staff Writers, 2021). 

On October 1, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a COVID-19 vaccine

mandate for all students and should be fully enacted next fall; however, there may be some

backlash from parents and students themselves. California was also the first state nation to enact

the mandate (Hubler, 2021). 

Fresno City’s and University of Southern California’s Requirements for COVID-19 

Fresno City requires its students and employees to get the COVID-19 vaccination. The

website offers the deadlines of when the proof is due. Fresno City also offers locations were to

receive the vaccine for free. Fresno City also has the hyperlink to access the medical exemptions

for medical and religious reasons (Fresno City College, n.d.-a). Fresno City is also a vaccination

site for the community.

USC requires students, faculty, and staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit

proof of the vaccination as well. USC reminds us that this vaccine is for access to campus
facilities and safety for everyone on campus. The vaccine is required unless there is an approved

medical or religious exemption (University of Southern California, n.d.-b). USC also offers facts

about the vaccine and other vaccines.

When looking at each of the institutions’ websites, they had many similarities. Both of

the institutions offer the same medical exemptions that fall under the California mandate. On

both of the websites, there was a hyperlink for the medical and religious exemptions. I do see

that USC has more information about the COVID-19 and other vaccines; these facts can be

reassuring for everyone who may be hesitant about the vaccine.

Conclusion

Fresno City College and the University of Southern California are two very different

institutions in California. Attending Fresno City would benefit students who are local to Fresno,

interested in nursing, and beginning their journey in higher education. On the other hand,

attending USC would be beneficial to those students who are interested in pursuing research

beyond their undergraduate degree. Both institutions are great for students but serve very

different purposes in higher education.

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