the Community

The Community

Pierce College serves communities in the West San Fernando Valley, including Calabasas, Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Granada, Hidden Hills, North Hills, Northridge, Reseda, Tarzana, West Hills, Woodland Hills and Encino.  The estimated population of the communities in the College's service area is over 1 million people.

Over the last ten years, the West Valley has become more ethnically diverse with an influx of Asians and Hispanics, as well as immigrants from Eastern Europe and the Middle East.  These changes are reflected in the wonderful diversity of students at Pierce College. According to our Fall 2016 census, the largest ethnic group of students at Pierce College are students who identify as Hispanic (46%), 32% identify as White, non-Hispanic, 7% identify as Asian, 5% identify as African-American, 4% identify as Filipino, and 3% identify as Multi-Ethnic.

The age of our student population continues to be mixed. Our Fall 2016 census indicates that most of the students (28%) are under 20 years of age, 34% are between the ages of 20 to 24, 19% are between the ages of 25 to 34, and 19% are 35 + years of age. Younger people are turning to college as a necessary step to a good job as well as transfer, and working adults are using the college as a way to improve job skills or retrain for a new career. Our Fall 2016 census shows male students comprised 44% and female students comprised 56% of the student population.  The majority of Pierce College students (69%) attend part-time carrying less than 12 unit course load, 25% of students attend full-time carrying 12 + unit course load, and 6% attend non-credit classes.  

Community Liaison

One of the College’s important goals is to work with the community as educator, as provider of services, as neighbor, and as a partner in community development.

Public Relations and Marketing

The Public Relations Manager for the college reports directly to the President and works with many campus leaders to help shape the marketing effort of the college. These efforts include enrollment and other promotional campaigns, brochures, radio/TV advertising, digital advertising, social media, web site and other promotional activities. In the role of public relations spokesperson for the college, the manager produces press releases, works one-on-one with reporters, and handles a wide variety of incoming inquiries about the college.

For further information, please contact 818.710.2510.

Economic and Workforce Development Workforce Education?

The Office of Economic and Workforce Development serves as the liaison with the business and industrial community.  The mission of the Economic and Workforce Development Department at Pierce College is to serve the business community by providing services for improving workforce skills for all levels in order for businesses to become more productive and competitive in a global marketplace.

To develop this relationship, the Economic and Workforce Development is involved with several community groups such as the Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA), and the Woodland Hills Chamber of Commerce.   It is important that the College and the employment community remain partners so that students can be educated to meet the demands of a rapidly changing, and diverse workforce. 

For further information, please contact 

College Web Site

Visit the College Website.  The web site is a portal through which the college can communicate with the community, faculty and students.   It offers general information about the campus, the current schedule of classes, the college catalog, and international student access from around the world.  It also allows for faculty/student communication, student registration, and submission of grades.  The college web master updates the site frequently. 

Each college department and faculty member is encouraged to maintain a web page for his or her professional use.  Course syllabi, meeting schedules, reading assignments, and links to others web sites are some of the information that is contained on these web pages.  

For further information, please contact Mark Henderson at 818-610-6551.  

Foundation for Pierce College : Alder Building Room #1024C 

The Foundation for Pierce College

​The mission of the Foundation for Pierce College is to develop resources and increase public awareness to support the students, educational programs and campus for the benefit of the community served by the college.

The Foundation…

• Is dedicated to academic excellence and educational opportunity for all residents.

• Directly assists students in need, supplements educational opportunities, enhances the College's facilities, and increases the availability of grants and scholarships.

• Provides financial support, through fundraising, to assist the College in meeting its strategic and educational objectives.

• Develops, supports and nurtures a variety of partnerships and alliances within the community.

• Promotes public awareness and a positive image of the college within the community. 

For further information, please contact the Foundation at 818.710.4206.

Pierce College Weather Station

LA Pierce College is home to a local weather station of in Woodland Hills, California, which for over 65 years, has been providing the local community with consistent, accurate, and quality data through its partnership with the Western Weather Group.

The Pierce College Weather Station provides automatedly collected weather data for enhanced student learning and to better understand the unique climate of the western San Fernando Valley. This station was one of the first official cooperative weather stations in the country to independently provide its archived data online and is one of the oldest operational cooperative weather stations in the country. The data collected and recorded has been—and is continually—used by colleges, universities, governments and private industry throughout Eurasia, Africa and the Americas.

Pierce College Weather Station Online

For further information, contact the Office of Academic Affairs at (818) 719-6444. To volunteer to be an NOAA-approved weather observer, please contact Joe Sirard at (805) 702-5031.

Music, Theatre Arts, and Athletic Events

Pierce College has an established commitment to the arts and sponsors a variety of performing and visual arts programs, which are integrated with the cultural development of the west San Fernando Valley.  The College offers excellent student theater productions, dance programs, art exhibits, seminars, and concerts.  In addition, there are sporting events involving Pierce’s intercollegiate teams.  The community is invited to attend all of these events.  

Los Angeles PierCe College Athletics

Los Angeles Pierce College Online

Courtesy passes?? to football games will be issued to faculty upon request.  For further information please contact Moriah Van Norman at 818.710.2823.

Encore Program

Encore is a Los Angeles Pierce College lifelong learning program that provides meaningful educational opportunities designed and paced specifically to serve mature adults in the community. The program offers free noncredit classes and volunteer opportunities. Classes range from arts & humanities, health & fitness, to finance and technology. The program recognizes the importance of intellectual pursuits, critical thinking, creative expression, health maintenance, skill development, and cultural awareness.

Contact information: (818) 710-2561

Website: LAPC Encore

Encore Email: lapc-encore@piercecollege.edu

Office Hours: M-F 8 am - 4 pm

Pierce College Extension

Location: Village 8200

Hours: Monday – Thursday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, Fridays 9 am to 1 pm

Phone: 818.719.6425

Email:  Extension@piercecollege.edu

The Pierce Extension Program is the community, continuing and contract educational service of the College.   It serves over 15,000 students annually with not-for-credit opportunities for personal and professional development, skill enhancement, cultural enrichment and recreational enjoyment.  Extension classes are offered in addition to Pierce College’s instructional program, and are not academic equivalents of regular credit classes, nor prerequisites for the traditional college program.   Pierce Extension is a self-sustaining enterprise that is user-fee supported program that welcomes everyone in the community to participate  The Extension Calendar, containing a list of activities, is distributed quarterly by mail to all surrounding communities.

Please visit the extension Website 

Foster and Kinship Care Education information 

Foster and Kinship Care Education (FKCE) classes provide quality education and support opportunities for caregivers of children and youth in out-of-home care enabling these providers to meet the educational, emotional, behavioral and developmental needs of the children in their care.

FKCE classes are open to all Resource (Foster) Parents, Kinship Caregivers and anyone else who is interested in or who works with children in out of home care.

Resource Parents are people who care for non-relative children in out of home care; also known as Foster Parents. 

Kinship Caregivers are people who care for their relative children, such as grandparents, uncles/aunts, older siblings or those who may not be related, but are considered close friends of the family. 

Interested Parties may be teachers, day care providers, medical or emergency professionals, potential foster parents, child development majors, or anyone who is interested in foster children, children or care issues. 

Please visit the Foster and Kinship Care Website