Cerro Coso Community College is one of three colleges in the Kern Community College District. The College is charged with the responsibility of providing educational opportunities for the widely separated desert, mountain, and valley communities within a sweeping 18,000 mile, four county, region of eastern California. Cerro Coso's service area includes a population base of just over 85,000 individuals. The College officially opened in the fall of 1973, and within the year began expanding its service area to include the present region. Cerro Coso, as an institution, has a long history of valuing students as individuals with unique capabilities and needs and a teaching-learning process that motivates students towards excellence