Palomar College is a public community college in San Diego County, California. The main campus is in San Marcos and three centers and four education sites are located elsewhere throughout north San Diego County.
Contents
History
Palomar College opened its doors on September 23, 1946, on the Vista High School campus with nine faculty members and exactly 100 students enrolled. Today, Palomar College has a 200-plus-acre main campus and is the largest single community college district in San Diego County.
In 2019, Palomar College faced criticism over plans to construct a presidential office suite on the top floor of its newly built Library/Learning Resource Center. The project was funded through Measure M, a $694 million bond measure approved by voters in 2006 for college construction and facility improvements. Several faculty members and two members of the five-member governing board questioned the expense and the level of oversight surrounding the project. A Palomar professor filed a lawsuit against the Palomar Community College District under the California Public Records Act, seeking records related to the presidential suite and the installation of its restroom.
Later that same year, a review by the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) found that the Palomar Community College District had an estimated structural deficit of $11.75 million for the 2019–20 fiscal year. The report also found that 96.2 percent of the district's ongoing unrestricted revenue was being spent on salaries and benefits, leaving the district with little flexibility to address its deficit. State officials warned that Palomar could run out of reserves within two years and might need to borrow about $6.5 million to remain financially stable.
Concerns about Blake's leadership were also growing among faculty. In October 2019, faculty voted "no confidence" in Blake. Two months later, the college's governing board placed Blake on paid administrative leave while an investigation was pending. They reached a separation agreement in February 2020 and Blake resigned in exchange for over $600,000.
In March 2020, the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office assigned a fiscal monitor to Palomar to oversee the district's financial recovery. At the time, Palomar was one of only two community college districts in the state under this type of monitoring. The monitor was brought in to review the district's finances and its efforts to address the problems identified by FCMAT.
Landmarks
"P" Mountain
A prominent landmark of the San Marcos campus is a large white letter "P" located on the hillside above the college, which remains visible from miles away.
The monument was built in the fall of 1950 by a volunteer group of students led by alumnus Bill Tipton. The students hiked up the hillside carrying shovels, hoes, and pickaxes to clear the terrain and assemble the letter using white-painted rocks. They successfully completed the project despite the area being heavily infested with rattlesnakes at the time.
In May 2001, the Palomar College Governing Board accepted a permanent trail easement to the landmark, securing the college's legal right to maintain the letter in perpetuity amidst nearby residential land development.
Campuses and education sites
Palomar College has its main campus in San Marcos and education centers in Escondido, Fallbrook, and Rancho Bernardo.
Palomar College also has education sites at Camp Pendleton, the Ramona Community Campus, Ramona High School, and a Public Safety Training Center in San Marcos.
Camp Pendleton
Palomar College has a site on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, offering courses to active-duty service members, veterans, military spouses, and other students on base.
Palomar also hosts free hands-on assistance on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at the School of Infantry Base Education Center. Services include applying for college, registering for classes, help with Tuition Assistance and FAFSA applications, and other student support services.
Academics
Palomar College offers 250 associate degree and certificate programs as well as programs for students wishing to transfer to many different four-year universities, including institutions in the University of California and California State University systems. Palomar College currently offers 31 Associate Degree for Transfer programs.
These programs are organized into five academic divisions:
Arts, Media, Business Administration
Career, Technical and Extended Education
Languages and Literature
Mathematics and The Natural and Health Sciences
Social and Behavioral Sciences
In addition, Palomar College and other local adult schools in North County work collaboratively and sometimes separately to leverage services and resources to better serve adult education students in the areas of Adult Basic Education, ESL, GED, HISET, high school diploma, and post-secondary education and vocational training.
Palomar College is the lead member of the Education to Career Network of North San Diego County. The Education to Career Network (ETCN) is an adult education association in North San Diego County that provides free or low-cost training, certification programs, and academic courses to help adults transition to higher education or enter the workforce. ETCN is one of 71 consortia in the state of California and is funded by the California Adult Education Program. Members of the ETCN consortium are Escondido Adult School, Palomar College, Poway Adult School, Ramona Adult School, San Marcos Adult School, and Vista Adult School.
In fall 2026, Palomar College began offering its first bachelor's degree, a Bachelor of Science in Building Performance and Environmental Design. The fall 2026 semester marked the first time that Palomar College offered a baccalaureate degree, with 24 students in the first group. The program costs students roughly $15,000 for the two-year upper-division portion of the degree.
Basic Police Academy
Palomar College offers a Basic Police Academy. In 2018, the program was recognized as a California Community Colleges Strong Workforce Gold Star program. One hundred percent of students were employed in a job similar to their field of study, 88 percent earned the regional living wage, and students had a 54 percent increase in earnings.
Student resources
Palomar College offers basic needs support, including free groceries and community housing resources, primarily centered at the Palomar College Basic Needs office on the San Marcos campus.
For housing, students can get resources from the Student Life and Leadership Quick Guide, which connects students with local housing agencies.
For grocery resources, students can use the Food and Nutrition Center, which provides enrolled students with free groceries and other essential resources. CalFresh support is also available. Staff can help students determine their eligibility, assist with their application, answer questions about required documents, and provide guidance throughout the application process.
Dreamer Success Program
Palomar College offers eligible undocumented and mixed-status students support through its Dreamer Success Program. According to Palomar College, the Dreamer Success Program "supports eligible undocumented and mixed-status students by helping them navigate college, strengthen academic skills, and access resources across Palomar College."
Through the Dreamer Success Program, undocumented or mixed-status students can find resources to help them pursue an education. Palomar College has also worked with community partners such as the North County Higher Education Alliance, the CSU San Marcos Dreamer Resource Office, and MiraCosta College's Undocumented People Rise Up in Solidarity and Empowerment program.
Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education
Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education (C.A.R.E.) is a state-funded program with the combined efforts of Palomar Community College, the Welfare Department, and the Employment Development Department. Its purpose is to provide educational opportunities and job experience for persons currently receiving TANF/CalWORKS who have been denied access to postsecondary education, provide necessary support for their academic success and retention, assist them in their pursuit of career and vocational goals, and help them move off welfare. C.A.R.E. has been ongoing at Palomar College since 1984.
Vista Detention Facility
Palomar College has a partnership with the Vista Detention Facility. In 2018, Palomar began offering college courses for credit to people incarcerated there. This gives them the opportunity to earn college credits while serving their sentence and continue their education once they are released.
Campus facilities
Planetarium
The Palomar College Planetarium is currently one of the largest in California and was officially completed in March 2012. There was a planetarium beforehand, but in July 2008 it was demolished to make way for new campus construction. The original planetarium was built in 1965 and served the campus for 43 years. The new planetarium opened its doors to the public on April 20, 2012.
Edwin and Frances Hunter Arboretum
The Edwin and Frances Hunter Arboretum is located on the San Marcos campus. The arboretum was established in 1973, when five acres were set aside for it. In 2015, the Palomar College Arboretum was renamed the Edwin and Frances Hunter Arboretum.
Palomar College houses nearly 5,000 different plant species on its main campus, including both native and non-native species. The amount of plant life diversity in this small amount of land in San Diego County has been compared with Balboa Park, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and the former Quail Botanical Gardens.
Along with the Edwin and Frances Hunter Arboretum, the San Marcos campus is accredited as a Level II Arboretum by the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program. It is the only community college in California with the Level II Arboretum designation.
Palomar is keeping a rare variety of the native Hawaiian plant called the ohai alive. Years ago, a Hawaiian botanical garden sent Palomar 25 ohai seeds. The campus successfully grew four plants, eventually producing more than 31,000 new seeds. This particular variety of ohai is now extinct in Hawaii, and Palomar hopes to help reintroduce it to the wild.
The arboretum uses a color-coded system. White signs mean a plant is not endangered, yellow signs mean the plant is vulnerable or threatened, and red signs mean the plant is critically threatened or extinct in the wild. The estate of Edwin and Frances Hunter donated $500,000 to help with the long-term care and maintenance of the arboretum.
Media
The Telescope is a student-run publication, produced by students enrolled in journalism courses and funded entirely through advertising.
Impact is a student-run magazine also produced by students in the college's journalism program. It has been published annually each spring semester since 2011 by the editorial staff of The Telescope.
Focus is a student-run mini magazine produced by students in the college's journalism program. It launched in fall 2025 and is published annually each fall. Its content is available on The Telescope website under the Focus tab.
Bravura is Palomar College's student-produced literary and arts journal, established in 1964 and published annually. In 2024, Bravura was named Best Magazine in the Pacific-Western Division of the Community College Humanities Association's literary magazine competition and placed third nationally. The journal also received First Class recognition in the National Council of Teachers of English's 2024 REALM Awards for student literary magazines.
KKSM is the college's student-run radio station. It is broadcast 24/7 from the Jonathan Downey Memorial Studio. It has a 500-watt AM signal. KKSM AM 1320 is known as San Diego's only independent, freeform radio station, which means the station is free from corporate interests. Its programming and music range from punk to hip hop, heavy metal, blues, news, and sports talk.
Palomar College Television (PCTV) is the college's PBS television station. It has been active since 1975. Palomar College Television has been creating award-winning educational content for more than 50 years and has received 37 Pacific Southwest Emmy Awards. Its documentary films have been shown at more than 60 film festivals and aired on PBS stations across the United States.
Students write, film, edit, and produce programming through Palomar's Radio, Television, and Cinema programs. Student-produced programs include North County News, Prep Sports Live, and Palomar Live.
Associated Student Government
The Governing Board of the Palomar Community College District has authorized the students of the District to organize a student body association named "Associated Students of the Palomar Community College District". The association is required by law to "encourage students to participate in the governance of the college".
The governing body of the association is named "Associated Student Government" (ASG). The ASG is a student-run organization at Palomar that strives to create a better campus for its students. Members of the ASG serve on campus-wide shared-governance committees and hiring committees, lobby State and Federal representatives on student issues, attend leadership conferences, and are responsible for Comet Week, Springfest, and some campus-wide activities.
Members of the ASG have opportunities to attend conferences, special on-campus parking, and serve on campus-wide committees as the "voice of the students." The Associated Students periodically participates in meetings sponsored by a statewide community college student organization named Student Senate for California Community Colleges. The statewide Student Senate is authorized by law "to advocate before the Legislature and other state and local governmental entities".
Athletics
The intercollegiate athletic program at Palomar College consists of a combined 17 men's and women's varsity-sport teams, averaging over 400 participating student-athletes per year.
Palomar fields men's teams in baseball, basketball, football, soccer, swimming and diving, water polo, volleyball, and wrestling. Women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, track and field, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling. The Athletics Department also oversees a co-ed cheerleading program.
The Palomar College softball team was named the 2022–23 3C2A Scholar Team of the Year. All members of the team excelled both in school and athletically with a total GPA of 3.0 or higher. The Scholar Team Award is the highest academic team achievement given annually by the 3C2A.
Honor Societies
Phi Theta Kappa
Palomar College is home to the Alpha Omega Rho (ΑΩΡ) Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), the official international honor society for two-year colleges. The chapter recognizes and encourages academic achievement among associate degree students. Eligibility for membership requires the completion of at least 12 transferable semester units and a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5.
Students who meet the criteria are typically invited to join each semester, though eligible students may also apply directly. Active members have opportunities to engage in service, leadership, fellowship, and scholarly activities through campus events, regional conferences.
Benefits of membership include access to exclusive transfer scholarships, leadership development, publication opportunities in Nota Bene—PTK's literary journal—and the honor of wearing Phi Theta Kappa regalia during commencement ceremonies.
Notable alumni
Todd Bankhead – professional football player
Joey Beltran – professional mixed martial artist
Lizet Benrey – painter
Ken Block – rally car driver and founder of DC Shoes
Travis Browne – professional mixed martial artist
Matt Chico – professional baseball player
Tom Dempsey – professional football player
Ryan Dahl – software engineer, inventor of Node.js
Pita Elisara – professional football player
Lina Fanene – professional wrestler and plus-sized model
Saalim Hakim – professional football player
Tim Hill (attended) – professional baseball player
James Hoyt – professional baseball player
Nia Jax – professional wrestler for WWE
Candi Kubeck – captain of ValuJet Flight 592, which crashed into the Florida Everglades on May 11, 1996
Bobby Lee (attended) – comedian and actor
Tommy Lister Jr. – actor and professional wrestler
Tom Luginbill – college football player and analyst for ESPN
Notable faculty
Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz (1921–2014), surfer and physician
Joyce Cutler–Shaw (1932–2018), multidisciplinary artist; taught from 1974 to 1978.