By Lookout Staff

January 29, 2020 -- The last time Santa Monica College (SMC) failed to rank as the top transfer institution to the University of California (UC) system, the vast majority of its students hadn't been born.

On Tuesday, school officials announced that, once again, SMC had kept its streak intact for the 29th straight year, a streak that began during the elder Bush's presidency.

It also maintained its top spot for transfers to Loyola Marymount University and USC and continued to lead in African American and Hispanic transfers to the UC system.

The top rankings, said SMC Superintendent/President Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery, demonstrate SMC's "longstanding commitment to student success.

"I congratulate our transfer students as well as the professors, counselors, and staff who have taught, championed and guided them,” Jeffery said in a statement.

SMC sent 1,272 students to UC campuses during 2018-2019 academic year -- 294 more than the number two feeder college, according to transfer data released by the UC Information Center.

That was a slight dip from the previous year's 1,289 students transferring to UC campuses, an all-time high for the school ("SMC Leads in UC Transfers for 28th Straight Year," December 17, 2018).

The recent numbers show a rise in minority transfers, from 199 to 218 for Hispanic students and from 54 to 71 African-American students.

The increase, Jeffery said, "speaks volumes to the urgent work taking place here to close the gap between our highest achieving student groups and those from racially minoritized groups.

"It is a heartening moment in the college’s efforts towards becoming a more equitable institution.”

Janet Robinson, who heads SMC's Transfer Center, said SMC increased its "equity efforts" by partnering with special programs on campus to "expand students' awareness of their transfer options."

UCLA continued to be the most popular destination for SMC students, with 486 of them headed to the Westwood campus, school officials said.

UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara ranked second and third, with 217 and 151 SMC students transferring respectively.

The 78 students enrolled at Loyola Marymount University once again made SMC the top feeder community college to the school, far ahead of the second-ranking college, which had 17 students, according to fall 2019 data.

SMC also ranked once again as the top-ranked feeder school to USC, with 118 students enrolled in the fall 2019 entering class of 1,382 students, officials said. The second-highest feeder college sent 79 students.

Robinson attributes the school's longstanding success sending students to top universities to its extensive outreach efforts.

The school, she said, "offers a plethora of transfer-related activities -- workshops, weekly visits to campus by university representatives, and our once-a-semester amazing college fairs.”

Considered the largest college fair in California, the Fall 2019 event featured 175 U.S. and international colleges and universities, she Robinson said.

SMC also offers a Scholars Program that prepares students for upper-division coursework and offers them priority consideration for admissions through special transfer agreements with several schools.

For more information about SMC’s Transfer Center and its services, visit www.smc.edu/transfer or email Robinson_Janet@smc.edu.