Folsom Lake College marks 10-year milestone

Folsom Lake College will celebrate its 10th year of accreditation on Oct. 11 with tours of the 151-acre campus, stage performances, demonstrations, exhibition games and history and art displays.

The United States Air Force Band of the Golden West will perform in the Harris Center. All tickets for the free event have been reserved, according to the Harris Center website.

Folsom Lake College is the fourth and newest campus in the Los Rios Community College District. It was a branch of Cosumnes River College until it was accredited as a separate campus in 2004. That enabled Folsom Lake College to develop its own curriculum and grant its own degrees.

The college’s fall enrollment in 2003 was 7,400. Today, Folsom Lake College serves about 8,200 students on the main campus in Folsom and at college centers in Placerville and Rancho Cordova.

A brief Los Rios history: Sacramento’s college system has its roots in 1916 when Sacramento Junior College opened on the top floor of Sacramento High School with 46 students, according to Los Rios records.

It opened at its current location, Sutterville Road and Freeport Boulevard, in 1926. In 1964, it separated from the Sacramento City Unified School District and joined the newly organized Los Rios Junior College District. The district also began operating American River College, which by then was 5 years old.

In 1970, the college district was renamed Los Rios Community College District. In 1972, it opened a third campus, Cosumnes River College, north of Elk Grove. Folsom Lake College was accredited 32 years later.

Los Rios’ overall enrollment today is 76,900.

Los Rios accreditations

Educational programs

A sampling of programs specific to Folsom Lake College:

Sources: Folsom Lake College, Los Rios Community College District

This story was originally published October 1, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Folsom Lake College marks 10-year milestone."