City College of San Francisco

What City College of San Francisco does

City College of San Francisco (CCSF) is a public community college founded in 1935, operated by the San Francisco Community College District within the California Community Colleges system and governed by an elected Board of Trustees under Chancellor Kimberlee Messina. The institution serves more than 60,000 students annually across six San Francisco locations (Ocean Campus plus Chinatown/North Beach, Downtown, Evans, John Adams, and Mission centers) and a statewide CityOnline portal, offering associate degrees, certificates, transfer pathways to four-year universities, free noncredit adult education (ESL, high school diploma, career training), intensive English programs for F-1 international students, and personal enrichment courses. CCSF holds federal Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) designations, is fully accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), and supports more than 1,000 courses across 150 academic disciplines.

The technology stack is composed primarily of standard higher-education platforms: Canvas learning management system for asynchronous and synchronous (via Zoom) course delivery, the myRAM student portal for registration and academic records, CCCApply for admissions, ID.me for identity verification, and a single-sign-on myCCSF portal that integrates Canvas, Zoom, myRAM, and CCSFmail. CityOnline provides online courses in six compressed formats (Fast 4 weeks through Traditional 17.5 weeks) with content and credit transferability equivalent to in-person sections. Notable service-level proprietary features include multilingual virtual campus tours (English, Chinese, Spanish), Zoom-based Virtual Counters providing real-time student support in admissions, counseling, financial aid, and health services, and an integrated wraparound support ecosystem including the SparkPoint basic needs center, Uwill teletherapy partnership, veterans resources, and LGBTQ+ resources.

CCSF is funded through a hybrid of California state apportionment (tied to full-time equivalent student counts), local property taxes, student fees, and grants — revenue is not commercially disclosed. Pricing is structured as freemium for noncredit courses (free for California residents) and per-credit/per-term subscription for credit courses at state-mandated rates, with nonresident and F-1 international surcharges layered on top. The Free City program offers tuition-free CityOnline courses to San Francisco residents. Customer acquisition is community-led and event-driven, relying on the Outreach and Recruitment team's information sessions, campus tours, the Student Ambassador program, and major events (All-in-One Day, Discover CCSF, CCSF Connect open house, CBO Summit), supported by partnerships with community-based organizations and a multilingual, multi-channel marketing presence.

Name

City College of San Francisco

Legal name

City College of San Francisco

Website

https://ccsf.edu

Company type

Public

Founded year

1935

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Public community college serving 60,000+ students annually across six San Francisco campuses and a statewide CityOnline portal, offering associate degrees, certificates, transfer pathways, ESL, and adult education funded through state apportionment, tuition, and the Free City program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Credit Tuition: California community college tuition for credit courses. Resident tuition rates apply for California residents. Noncredit courses are free for students living in California.
2. State Funding: State funding based on enrollment metrics. Funding requires minimum full-time student enrollment thresholds. Downtown campus closure resulted in $2.2 million loss due to critically low enrollment of 152 full-time students vs. 1,000 required for state funding.
3. International Student Tuition: Nonresident and international student tuition in addition to base enrollment fees. F-1 visa students pay higher tuition rates.
4. Free City Program: Free tuition program for San Francisco residents through Free City initiative. San Francisco residents can attend CityOnline tuition-free.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

City College of San Francisco is a public community college that delivers credit associate degree and certificate programs, transfer pathways to four-year universities, career and technical education, and free noncredit adult education (ESL, high school diploma, personal enrichment). Instruction is offered in person across six San Francisco campuses and online statewide via the CityOnline platform, supported by the Canvas LMS, myRAM student portal, and Zoom-based virtual help counters.

Product overview

City College of San Francisco operates as a community college offering educational products and services including credit and noncredit academic programs, online learning through CityOnline, and student support services via the myCCSF portal. The institution provides degree programs (AA/AS and transfer pathways), certificates of achievement, and free noncredit classes including ESL and high school diploma programs. Student services are delivered through integrated platforms including Canvas LMS, myRAM registration portal, and virtual help counters, with the Office of International Programs serving F-1 visa students through specialized programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Credit Associate Degree and Certificate Programs Credit-bearing academic programs leading to Associate of Arts (AA) and Associate of Science (AS) degrees, certificates of achievement, and transfer pathways to four-year universities. Offered across 150 academic disciplines with more than 1,000 courses for credit-seeking students.
• Free Noncredit Adult Education Tuition-free noncredit classes for California residents including ESL, high school diploma completion, citizenship preparation, career and technical training, and personal enrichment courses. Open-enrollment adult education programs serving community members.
• CityOnline Online Learning Online learning portal offering both credit and noncredit courses with multiple class length options (Traditional 17.5 weeks, Full 16 weeks, Fusion 12 weeks, Flex 8 weeks, Focus 6 weeks, Fast 4 weeks). Delivered via Canvas LMS with asynchronous instruction and some synchronous Zoom sessions for hybrid courses, providing the same content, credits, and transferability as in-person equivalents statewide in California.
• Office of International Programs (OIP) International student services for F-1 visa students including the Credit Academic Program, Intensive English Program (IEP) supported by AAIEP, Conditional Admission Program, and Concurrent Enrollment Program. Provides visa compliance, English language training, and transfer pathway support for non-immigrant students.
• Free City Program Tuition-free enrollment program enabling San Francisco residents to take CityOnline credit courses at no cost, eliminating the tuition barrier for credit-bearing online education for local residents.
• Career and Technical Education Workforce-focused career education programs in fields including culinary, fashion, hospitality (including the student-run Chef's Table restaurant at the Ocean Avenue campus), behavioral health, business, and skilled trades, with industry and corporate partnerships for workforce development.

Quantifiable outcome

• Public two-year enrollment grew 4% last year with career-focused certificates up 6.6%
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• One Million DegreescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Though mentioned in context of broader community college initiatives, One Million Degrees announced partnership with City Colleges of Chicago (not CCSF). The announcement highlighted a decade-long University of Chicago RCT showing OMD participants were 73% more likely to earn an associate degree within three years and earned $14,246 more annually.
• UwillcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2026Partnership to enhance basic needs support for students, including food security, housing, and transportation assistance. The initiative leverages Uwill's teletherapy and support platform to improve student well-being and academic success. Addresses high levels of basic needs insecurity among California community college students through virtual and phone services.
• HealthRIGHT 360minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInvested $15,000 to support behavioral health training course at City College of San Francisco, demonstrating corporate partnership for workforce development in behavioral health fields.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Santa Monica College: Large California community college serving the Westside Los Angeles area. Similar transfer and international student programs, large student body, and multiple campus locations. Direct peer within the California Community Colleges system.
• Pasadena City College: California community college in the Los Angeles area, part of the same California Community Colleges system. Comparable scale, transfer and workforce programs, and tuition structure — a direct competitor for California residents within the same public system.
• Houston Community College: Large multi-campus urban community college system serving a diverse metropolitan population. Similar scale, Hispanic-Serving designation, and workforce development focus; comparable urban community college operating model.
• City Colleges of Chicago: Multi-campus urban public community college system serving the Chicago metropolitan area with comparable enrollment scale (~60,000+ students), credit and noncredit programs, and similar state funding model. Most directly comparable peer given shared urban public community college structure.
• Miami Dade College: One of the largest community college systems in the U.S., serving a similar urban, diverse population. Comparable scale (~50,000+ students), multiple campuses, and Hispanic-Serving Institution designation.
• San Jose City College: California community college in the San Jose/Evergreen Community College District, serving the South Bay. Same California Community Colleges funding model, similar urban community college mission and student demographics.
• De Anza College: Large California community college in Cupertino serving the Silicon Valley area. Comparable scale (~25,000+ students), strong transfer pathways, and similar statewide funding dynamics.
• College of DuPage: Large suburban community college in Illinois with similar enrollment scale (~26,000+ students) and comprehensive transfer and workforce programming. Comparable multi-campus distribution model.

Regional players

• University of California, San Francisco: Major public research university located in San Francisco. Represents an alternative pathway for SF students but at a graduate/health sciences focus; shares regional brand and competes for talent/employer partnerships.
• San Francisco State University: Four-year public university also located in San Francisco. Serves as a primary transfer destination for CCSF students and competes for the same Bay Area student pool at the baccalaureate level.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/officialccsf
• Facebookfacebook.com/5285
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/city-college-of-san-francisco
• Instagraminstagram.com/officialccsf

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about City College of San Francisco