City College to Close Downtown San Francisco Campus After Enrollment Collapse

City College to Close Downtown San Francisco Campus After Enrollment Collapse

City College of San Francisco announced it will close its Downtown Center campus at Fourth and Mission Streets this summer after enrollment dropped too low to qualify for state funding. The campus currently enrolls the equivalent of about 152 full-time students, far below the 1,000 students required to keep roughly $2 million in annual state support.

School officials said classes offered at the site — including culinary arts, fashion, and language programs — will be relocated to other campuses such as the Chinatown and main Ingleside campuses. Despite the closure, the college said no employees will lose their jobs as a result of the change.

The decision reflects a broader decline in enrollment at City College. About a decade ago the college had over 22,000 full-time-equivalent students, but recent numbers show enrollment has fallen to around 7,000–9,000 students, a drop of more than half.

The nine-story building at 88 Fourth Street, which the college owns, could eventually be repurposed through partnerships with community groups or other educational organizations. The closure also highlights ongoing challenges for downtown San Francisco, where office vacancy rates remain high and civic leaders have been trying to bring more activity back to the area after the pandemic.

URL:

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/city-college-close-downtown-sf-campus-enrollment-21959800.php