About Us

Board of Trustees

Trisha Murakawa
President

Katherine Steinbroner Maschler
Vice President

Brett C.S. Roberts
Secretary

Nilo Vega Michelin
Trustee

Cliff Numark
Trustee

Connor Lai 
Student Member

Accreditation

El Camino College is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, 10 Commercial Boulevard, Suite 204, Novato, CA 94949-6175, telephone 415-506-0234, www.accjc.org, an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education. The University of California, the California State University and other colleges and universities give full credit for appropriate courses completed at El Camino College. El Camino College is approved for veterans by the Office of Postsecondary Education, California State Department of Education.

Membership

El Camino College is a member of the Community College League of California.

Certification

The El Camino Community College District hereby certifies that this Catalog is true and correct in content as required by DVB Circular 20-76- 84, Appendix P, Paragraph 6(a), Department of Education, State of California.

ECC Police Department

The El Camino College Police Department is in charge of the personal safety and security of all students, employees and visitors of El Camino College. Open at all times, the department is located on the corner of Crenshaw and Redondo Beach boulevards in Parking Lot K. ECC Police offers lost and found services, courtesy shuttle service between parking lots and classes as well as ADA transportation for people with mobility issues. First aid and assistance in all emergency situations is also available. The department may be contacted directly at 310-660-3100. Traffic and parking regulations are posted throughout campus. ECC Police will issue citations to violators of these regulations. All such fines are payable to the Campus Police Department.

Academic Affairs

The El Camino College Catalog is published annually through Academic Affairs, El Camino Community College District, 16007 Crenshaw Boulevard, Torrance, CA 90506.

El Camino College has made every reasonable effort to determine that this Catalog is accurate. Courses and programs offered, together with other matters contained herein, are subject to change without notice by the administration for reasons related to student enrollment and level of financial support, or at the discretion of the district and the college. The district and the college further reserve the right to add, amend or repeal any rules, regulations, policies and procedures.

History

In 1946, after strong recommendations by a consulting team to establish a two-year college in the Inglewood-South Bay area, the governing boards of the Centinela Valley, Redondo, Inglewood and El Segundo school districts won 10-1 voter approval for the creation of a junior college.

Torrance soon joined the newly chartered group, and the El Camino Community College District was officially established on July 1, 1947.

Located centrally in the South Bay, the El Camino Community College District encompasses seven unified and high school districts, and nine cities - a population of nearly 533,000 residents.

Early classrooms were surplus World War II barracks which were trucked north from the old Santa Ana Army Air Base in Orange County.

The first permanent building for classroom instruction was the shop building, which opened in 1949. The women’s gym, field house, another shop building and the Social Science Building followed. Major construction was the order of business nearly every year during the growth years of the college.

El Camino College’s buildings cover 1,129,112 square feet and were built at a cost of $28 million. That means 27 structures were completed without any bonded indebtedness to the district.

In November 2002, voters of the El Camino Community College District approved a $394 million facilities bond measure. The successful passage of this first-ever bond measure allowed the district to build several new buildings, engage in major remodeling and reconstruction of others, and take steps to improve the health and safety of students and employees.

History was made again in November 2012 when district voters approved Measure E, a $350 million facilities bond measure. Measure E will provide funds for safety, technology, and energy-saving improvements to classrooms, labs and other instructional facilities.

Bond money can be used only on facilities and equipment. None of it can be used for salaries or programs. A Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee provides an annual report to the public regarding the use of the funds.

El Camino College Administration, Faculty and Trustees

The faculty has grown since the first 30 members, to about 900 full-time and part-time instructors today. Nearly 25 percent of the full-time faculty have earned doctoral degrees while more than 90 percent have master’s degrees. The remainder have excellent credentials for their areas of expertise.

The college is governed by the five members of the El Camino Community College District Board of Trustees. Each is elected for a four-year term. Board meetings are held monthly and are open to the public.

Leading the administration is the college’s president, who also serves as superintendent of the El Camino Community College District. The president is assisted directly by four vice presidents. Their areas of responsibility are academic affairs, administrative services, student services, human resources, and Compton College.

As the college grew from an enrollment of fewer than 500 in 1946 to 33,000 students today, the curriculum expanded to include not only lower-division courses but an honors program and numerous vocational programs. Today, El Camino College students enjoy a broad curriculum featuring 99 degree programs and 83 certificate programs.

The college confers the associate degree each academic year on nearly 2,000 students who have completed 60 semester units and have satisfied their major field of study obligations. Many students each year also qualify for certificates of completion, signifying course requirements have been met in major skill areas.

The college is a reflection of its seven presidents. Founding president Forrest G. Murdock served until his retirement in 1958. He was succeeded by Stuart E. Marsee whose tenure saw 24 years of financial stability, building and growth. Retiring in 1982, he turned the campus over to Rafael Cortada. Cortada’s legacy to the college was the establishment of the Honors Transfer Program and development of the El Camino College Foundation, which raises funds for programs not supported through the general budget. Sam Schauerman, who had served the college first as a dean of instruction, then as vice president of instruction, became El Camino College’s fourth president from 1987 to 1995. Thomas M. Fallo became the fifth president in 1995 and served until his retirement in 2016. An alumnus of El Camino College, Fallo supported student success through a million-dollar scholarship program, and by leading the district as it sought and obtained voter approval for two facility bond measures totaling $744 million for safety and technology upgrades. Dr. Dena Maloney was El Camino College’s sixth president.  El Camino College today is under the leadership of Dr. Brenda Thames, who is guiding the college through the 21st century.

El Camino College Foundation

The El Camino College Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is “to develop community relationships and raise funds to support students’ success in education and life.” The El Camino College Foundation was established in 1983 upon the recommendation of El Camino College President Rafael Cortada. The Foundation supports students by providing financial resources through scholarships and emergency textbook funds. Additionally, the Foundation establishes relationships with key stakeholders, both individuals and corporations, in the community to develop collaboration, engagement and financial resources for El Camino College. Additional support comes through Foundation funding of programs and student services such as mentoring, supplemental instruction and tutoring, as well as support for faculty through innovative, educational tools that enhance the learning environment.

Through the generous support of individuals, businesses, and local corporations, the El Camino College Foundation is able to respond to the highest priority needs of our students and the college. These resources help sustain and grow important programs and services for students, enabling them to reach their educational goals.

For more information about how to support El Camino College, please visit the El Camino College Foundation website at www.elcaminocollegefoundation.org, call 310-660-6040 or send an email to asala@elcamino.edu. The Foundation is a 501(c) (3) charitable organization. All donations are tax deductible.

Administration

Mission and Vision

Mission Statement
El Camino College makes a positive difference in people’s lives.  We provide innovative and excellent comprehensive educational programs and services that promote student learning, equity, and success in collaboration with our diverse communities.

Vision Statement
El Camino College will be the college of equity and innovation by transforming, strengthening, and inspiring our community to excel through learning.

Statement of Values
Our highest value is placed on our students and their educational goals; interwoven in that value is our recognition that the faculty and staff of El Camino College are the College’s stability, its source of strength and its driving force. With this in mind, our five core values are:

People - We strive to inspire our diverse students, employees, and community with purpose, passion, and pride.
Respect - We work in a spirit of civility, cooperation and collaboration.
Integrity - We act ethically and honestly toward our students, colleagues and community.
Diversity - We embrace our similarities and differences to promote an inclusive campus community with equitable outcomes for all.
Excellence - We deliver quality, innovation, and excellence in all we do.

To advance the mission, vision and values, El Camino College develops strategic initiatives and action items for institutional improvement as part of long-range master planning.  A set of aspirational goals on selected student achievement measures informs institutional progress.

The College uses evidence and the collegial consultation process to evaluate the mission, vision, and values, and revises them on a regular basis.