The number of high school graduates generated by the eight (8) public high schools and six (6) private secondary schools in Carcar City keeps on increasing every year. Many of these graduates become out-of-school youths who are unskilled and unprepared even to join the labor force because of their failure to go to college, mainly due to financial reasons.
Although there is one private college in Carcar City but there is none that caters to high school graduates from the underprivileged families. Thus, due to the high cost of tertiary education in Carcar City and in the province of Cebu, the local government units were encouraged to establish their own local college per Provincial Resolution No. 1440- 2010, entitled “Encouraging All Local Government Units in the Province of Cebu to Establish Their Own Subsidized Local College That Will Promote Equal Access to Quality Tertiary Education for the Less Fortunate.”
In their desire to help and serve the marginalized families in Carcar City and in nearby places, the First District Representative, Hon. Congressman Eduardo R. Gullas and the City Mayor of Carcar City , Hon. Nicepuro L. Apura, Ll.B., established a College in the City of Carcar.
This mission motivated the Sangguniang Panlungsod in the passing of City Ordinance No.10-10 entitled “Ordinance Establishing Carcar Community College and other Purposes” which was signed into law on December 30,2010, and was amended by City Ordinance No. 2-11 through Sanggunang Panlungsod Urgent Resolution No. 87, Series of 2011,which was signed into law by Mayor Nicepuro L. Apura on March 24, 2011. The amended ordinance changed the name Carcar Community College into Carcar City College.
Carcar City College is the upgrading of Carcar Community Training Center (CCTC) which was established in September 1987 and was granted recognition by the then National Manpower and Youth Council (NMYC) in 14. On August 27, 2009, this technical/vocational training center was granted TESDA Accreditation No. 09070196 and renamed Carcar Community Skills and Training Assessment Center (CCSTAC). The Center is upgraded into a Collegiate Unit and CCSTAC is made a technical-vocational department offering the same technical-vocational courses.
The College started its operations in the first semester of AY 2011-2012. Initially, there were 20 officials, 15 faculty members and 7 support staff. Courses offered include Bachelor of Arts in English (AB Eng.), Bachelor of Science in Office Administration (BSOA), Bachelor of Public Administration (BPA), Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (BSA), and Bachelor of Science in Fisheries (BSF).
Enrolment reached a total of 392 freshmen coming from the different barangays of the City and neighboring towns. In June 2011, classes were held at the Carcar City Sports Complex but upon the completion of the school building in Luanluan, Poblacion 1 in July 2011, classes were held in the new building. The blessing and inauguration of the school building was done during the 4th Charter Day Celebration of the City of Carcar on July 7, 2011.
The purposes of Carcar City College are as follows (Sec 2, Art 1 CO 10-10, as amended)
to provide college education in both Technical/Vocational and Degree-granting programs to poor and deserving students;
to develop and maximize the intellect of the young constituents of Carcar who are financially deprived; and
to introduce in its curricula such studies which do not at present receive sufficient emphasis in existing higher educational institutions.
Of the six degree programs being offered at Carcar City College, the Bachelor of Science in Agriculture stands out as its flagship degree program. This is evident in the annual results of the Licensure Examination for Agriculturists (LEA). The first batch of graduates in AY 2014-2015, surpassed the national passing rate of 31.05 %, as Nicean Agriculture graduates recorded 36.36% institutional passing rate.
Remarkably, the board examination result of Nicean Agriculture graduates in AY 2017-2018 catapulted Carcar City College to be ranked as the Top Ten Best Agriculture Schools in the Philippines for 2018 (Local Pulse. 2018), as it recorded an institutional passing rate of 68.18%, vis-à-vis the national passing rate of 38.14% in the Licensure Examination for Agriculturists.
This significant accomplishment placed Carcar City College among the CHED acknowledged Top 10 Best Philippine Schools to Study Agriculture for 2018, which are all accredited as either Centers of Excellence or Level I to Level III accreditation status by PACUCOA, PAASCU and AACCUP, depending on the type of the College or University. Incidentally, only Carcar City College landed in the top ten in the list despite its not being accredited yet by the Association of Local Colleges and Universities (ALCU).
Carcar City College has stepped up in its educational endeavor when it acquired Government Permit to open the Bachelor of Science in Criminology effective aacademic year 2018-2019.
Academic Year 2018-2019 sees a more active direction aiming towards issuance of CHED Certificate of Program Compliance, then on to membership and hopefully accreditation by the ALCUCOA. The vision, mission, institutional goals and core values of Carcar City College are deemed achievable, with the strong support of the Governing Board and the City Council of Carcar City.