Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Census

Owned by Katia Rostam Yazdi
Last updated: Apr 07, 2020 by Jerrick Woo
3 min read

Official enrollment for Article 7 concurrent sections is determined by the number of students enrolled on the “Census Date”.  The census count is part of the formula used by the State of California to determine our official enrollment numbers which in turn are used to pay the District for educating those students.  It is very important that all instructors certify an accurate list of students enrolled in their class.  For a twelve week class the census date is the third Monday of the quarter.  Classes of different lengths will each have a specific census date that is listed on the Active Roster’s Essentials screen.

Instructors teaching “Positive Attendance” classes are not asked to do a census, but are required to record and report, with the class grades, the actually number of hours their students attended the class.

The Process:

  1. Prior to the Census date you should drop any students who do not show up for class.  Drops are processed immediately.
  2. New rule since 2018: You can not drop students on Census Date! You must drop at least one day before the Census Date!
  3. Three days prior to your classes’ census date you will receive an e-mail reminding you of the census date.
  4. Also during the three days leading up to the Census and until you push the “Sign Census” button, you will see a reminder message when you view your class roster.



  5. On Census day, your student roster screen will un-gray the Sign Census button. Please review the list of enrolled students on the roster. 
  6. You are now ready to certify your census.  Simply, click the Sign Census button.  The system will display a confirmation and your signature will be recorded electronically.  When you click OK and return to the roster, the Sign Census button will no longer display.


FAQ

  • My class is not a twelve week class.  How do I know the class’ census date?
    It is listed in the Class Roster on the Essentials screen which can be located by clicking the Menu button and selecting Essentials from the drop-down list.  Also you will receive the e-mail reminder, the roster banner reminder and the Census Button will appear on the roster.
  • I didn’t get to it on Census day.  What do I do now?
    The Sign Census button will display for two more days after Census day.  As long as the button displays you can still perform the Census certification electronically.
  • I missed the three day window and the Sign Census button is again grayed out.  Can I just forget about it?
    No.  You can take care of it by going to Admissions and Records where they will print out your census and have you manually sign it.  Also, three days after census, a report will be sent to Admissions and Records listing all instructors and their classes who are missing census certification. Admissions and Records may contact you directly and/or notify your division Dean.
  • Why is Sign Census button on my roster grayed out?
    There can be a variety of reasons:
    • It is not Census day or the two days after.
    • Your class is a “Positive Attendance” class and you are not required to certify census.
    • You have already clicked the Sign Census button.  You only have to do it once per class per quarter.  You can confirm this by looking at your classes list.  There is a column that is marked yes if you signed your census for the class.