District Overview

Founded:   1922
Annual Enrollment: 45,000
Locations:  San Bruno, San Mateo and Redwood City

District Office		Cañada College		College of San Mateo		Skyline College
3401 CSM Dr. San Mateo, CA 94402		4200 Farm Hill Blvd. Redwood City, CA 94061		1700 W. Hillsdale Blvd. San Mateo, CA 94402		3300 College Dr. San Bruno, CA 94066
Chancellor Ron Galatolo		President Thomas C. Mohr		President Michael Claire		President Victoria Morrow

The District was established in 1922, and operates three Colleges:  the College of San Mateo, Cañada College, and Skyline College.  Located between San Francisco and Silicon Valley, the District Colleges provide community college educational services to residents of the County of San Mateo, California.  Combined, the three Colleges of the District serve approximately 45,000 students annually and offer the first two years of college-level instruction in a wide variety of transfer programs as well as more than 90 Career Technical Education (CTE) programs .  Students can earn either Associate in Arts or Science degrees or receive Certificates of Proficiency in their chosen fields.  The District also operates KCSM-FM, a jazz radio station, and KCSM-TV Channel 60, a public television station offering a variety of televised courses for credit each semester. Distance education courses are available at all three colleges as well as courses and programs serving concurrently enrolled students. Noncredit, short courses are offered for a fee through the Community Education Program. 

Each College is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the recognized local accrediting agency for the western United States, affiliated with the Federation of Regional Accrediting Commissions of Higher Education.  The District is governed by a six-member Board of Trustees, with five voting members elected at large by County voters for four-year terms and one nonvoting student member elected by students for a one-year term.  The day-to-day operations are managed by the Board-appointed Chancellor. 

The District's primary service area is San Mateo County and its boundaries are coterminous with those of the County.  Rural coast side communities, suburbs and high-tech urban cities on the Peninsula exist within a half an hour drive from one another.  Recent demographic trends in the service area mimic those of the state:  the students are becoming more diverse in their cultural backgrounds, age, education preparedness and life goals.  Current regional challenges impacting the Colleges include an increasing income gap, a predicted decline of high school graduates, and the absence of a major public university in the area.  The District 2008-2013 Strategic Plan includes an extensive environmental scan and many district-wide strategic initiatives. The district is currently embarking on a district-wide capital improvement plan supported by nearly $1 Billion in construction Bonds.  Projects at all three campuses include construction of new, LEED certified buildings, smart classrooms and labs, refurbishing and modernization of existing facilities and upgrades to campus infrastructure.