Cabrillo College’s Watsonville Center sees 71% enrollment surge – and rising pass rates

Dalia Juarez, 19, knew when she graduated from Pajaro Valley High School that she didn’t want to leave Watsonville for college just yet.  

“I knew I wanted to have the feeling of college first before going to a four-year university,” she said. “[Cabrillo College] is close to home.” 

Juarez is part of a wave of new students behind a 71% enrollment surge at Cabrillo College’s Watsonville Center, which grew from 1,667 students in fall 2022 to 2,856 in fall 2025. 

Located adjacent to the Watsonville City Plaza, the center offers instruction and tutoring as well as a range of services including financial aid, counseling and basic needs support. And, increasingly, it’s offering students all the courses they need to fulfill their program requirements without needing to go to the college’s main campus in Aptos. 

Watsonville Center Dean Eduardo Cervantes said the enrollment increase is likely due to a mix of factors. He cited the college’s efforts to bring back students who left school during the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase in student support services and curriculum offerings geared toward student interests, as well as the growth of the dual-enrollment program – a partnership with local high schools enrolling students in college courses. 

“I think culture is definitely the driver for us in many ways,” Cervantes told Lookout recently. “I think our students come with a lot of great wealth and aspirations to begin with, and when we nurture that, it helps them grow even more, and it obviously helps our enrollment grow.”

Enrollment wasn’t the only thing that grew – student success did, too. Among students who completed their courses, the pass rate rose from 70% in fall 2022 to 84% in fall 2025.  

Cervantes added that growth was so great that the center started to run out of space. “We didn’t have enough space for student services. We didn’t have enough classroom space,” he said.

To address facility needs, the college reacquired a building that was previously rented out to agencies like the Santa Cruz County Office of Education. With Building B reacquired, the center had access to new spaces that allowed it to offer new classes and services. For example, the center opened the Watsonville Wellness Center and Food Pantry this past May, and the Watsonville campus can now offer a horticulture class because a classroom in the building has a sink – which is needed to run the course. 

Additionally, Cervantes said he thinks the center’s enrollment growth could have been spurred by supporting the increasing student interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers. The college increased tutoring and support for STEM students at Watsonville’s Integrated Learning Center, made upgrades to its science lab and launched an entirely new chemistry program in 2024.

Cervantes added that for the first time this fall, the center will offer human anatomy, which will allow students to take the full required sequence of courses needed for the Nursing and Allied Health program at the center without having to go to Aptos. 

Because the center’s students gravitate toward nursing, early childhood education, psychology, business, emergency medical technician and construction trade programs, Cervantes said the center is focused on expanding those areas. 

He said the dual-enrollment and outreach programs targeting students who left during the pandemic were also crucial to growing enrollment. The post-pandemic outreach program, which ended in 2023, paired students with a mentor and connected students with resources from tutoring to financial aid. 

The dual-enrollment program “definitely ramped up” in recent years, Cervantes said. In fall 2023, students in that program made up 8% of the college’s total enrollment, and in spring this past year, that grew to nearly 12%. Most of that growth comes from Pajaro Valley Unified School District students – in one year, participation nearly tripled from 126 to 366 students. 

Cervantes said that while the center is experiencing this growth and success right now, he thinks the Watsonville campus community has always had the strengths and aspirations to thrive. He thinks of the students who have strong family backgrounds and grew up translating for their non-English-speaking parents, but who don’t realize the value of the communication skills that come with that. He said he thinks the center is improving how it reaches and supports those students. 

“They’re walking in the door with these incredible skills that I think that sometimes we don’t always acknowledge and see,” he said. “Being able to do that and having offerings that are reflective of that community is incredibly important.”

Juarez told Lookout she plans to study health science and is pursuing a career in social work. After Cabrillo, she’d like to finish her studies at Cal State Monterey Bay or San Jose State University. 

“Being on the Watsonville campus feels very welcoming,” she said. “It feels like everyone knows each other and is comfortable speaking with one another.” 

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