Two East Bay community colleges will merge into one institution next year as officials look to reduce dropout rates and address declining enrollment.
The plan to unite Laney College and Merritt College under a new name, Oakland City College, was approved on Tuesday during a meeting of the Peralta Community College Board of Trustees in a 6-2 vote. Both campuses would remain open following the merger, which is expected to take effect in fall 2027, according to the Peralta Community College District’s FAQ page. (The district’s other two campuses, College of Alameda and Berkeley City College, will continue to operate as separate institutions.)
According to the resolution document from the board, though Laney and Merritt colleges were founded during a “different demographic and economic era,” the district is now experiencing different problems, including a decline in enrollment. During the meeting, one of the trustees, Cindi Napoli-Abella Reiss, said the decline has been noticeable in the last 12 to 18 years…