First in California: Long Beach City College earns higher education's highest thriving honour

Long Beach City College serves more than 35,000 students a semester — and it has just become the first California community college certified as an Intentionally Thriving Institution, the highest level of the Seal of Excelencia, joining only 12 institutions nationwide. The certification, from Excelencia in Education, recognises colleges that deliberately set Latino students — and all students — up to succeed beyond graduation, backed by data and evidence. It is LBCC's third consecutive Seal (it was California's first community college to earn it in 2020, and was recertified in 2023). 'This affirms six years of using data to better understand our students and make meaningful changes,' said Superintendent-President Dr Mike Muñoz. 'When every student has the opportunity to thrive, our families and communities grow stronger,' added board president Uduak-Joe Ntuk, himself an LBCC alumnus.

SDG 4 · Quality education — Mechanism: institutional program