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College of the Sequoias highlights enrollment gains, new tech-and-trades complex and university center plans
Summary
College of the Sequoias President Dr. Brent Calvin told the Farmersville Unified board on May 28 that Farmersville student enrollment at COS hit an all-time high and described a new 70,000-square-foot tech-and-trades complex and a Fresno State university center coming to Tulare County.
Dr. Brent Calvin, superintendent and president of the College of the Sequoias, briefed the Farmersville Unified School District Board on May 28 about local student enrollment trends and new COS facilities.
"Our student count hit a high watermark of 339 students from Farmersville High School," Dr. Calvin said, citing fall-2024 and spring-2025 enrollment data. He said the total included 91 first-time students, 73 continuing students, 26 returning students and 44 dual-enrollment students; with “maybe 1 exception, all of those are all-time high.”
Calvin described a newly opened 70,000-square-foot technology-and-trades complex in Tulare that he said includes automotive lifts, multiple engines for instruction and a welding facility that hosts West Coast championships. "We opened up a, 70,000 square foot technology and trades complex in Tulare," he said. He also said COS had broken ground on a university center in Tulare to expand Fresno State bachelor’s and master’s offerings on the Visalia campus; the project is expected during the 2027–28 year.
Calvin highlighted student success metrics: 89% of incoming students placed directly into transfer-level English and a 76% course-success rate for Farmersville students, which he called "an all-time high." He also reported 68 graduates in spring 2024 representing 79 awards and said many declared majors were in liberal arts, health sciences and teaching pathways.
Board members asked several follow-up questions about placement for mathematics following the implementation of Assembly Bill 705 and the university-center timeline. Calvin said state law (AB 705) requires consideration of high school grades and prior coursework when placing students in transfer-level math and English and stated, "it's illegal to have anything below transfer level math or English" under that law.
Calvin and Raymond Macareno, COS board president (present at the meeting), encouraged local high schools to use COS concurrent- and dual-enrollment options to help students accrue college credits; Calvin noted University Preparatory High School students on COS campus have strong access to college courses.
Calvin’s presentation included printed materials made available to attendees; he invited questions from the board and district staff.
