| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Public community college district, governed by an elected Board of Education; classes on campus, hybrid and online |
| Campuses | Three, all in Oregon: the main campus in Oregon City, the Harmony Campus in Milwaukie and the Wilsonville Campus |
| Credentials | Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees, Certificates of Completion, short Career Pathway Certificates, apprenticeship degrees and transfer degrees (AAOT, AS, AGS and others) |
| Calendar | Quarters; all credits are quarter credits |
| Typical length | Two terms (phlebotomy) to two years (RN); AAS degrees are 90 or more quarter credits |
| Enrollment | 21,672 students in 2024-25, including non-credit (5,747 full-time equivalent) |
| Accreditation | NWCCU, first accredited in 1971, reaffirmed June 2023 |
| Federal aid | Yes |
| 2026-27 tuition | $136 per credit for residents of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California and Nevada; $320 for others |
| Founded | 1966 |
| Facts checked | 9 October 2026 |
Clackamas County’s public college, on quarter terms
Clackamas Community College is the public community college for most of Clackamas County in the Portland area; Lake Oswego, Sandy, Damascus and Boring lie outside its district. It held its first classes in 1966, at Gladstone High School, and now teaches on quarter terms at three campuses. The main campus in Oregon City holds the automotive and industrial technology programs, the Harmony Campus in Milwaukie is the health sciences hub, and Wilsonville focuses on apprenticeship and utility training. The 2026-27 catalog lists 33 AAS degrees, 48 Certificates of Completion and 24 Career Pathway Certificates. What sets it apart for career students is an ACEN-accredited RN degree, a medical assistant program accredited by CAAHEP, an ASE MAST automotive program and the only NALP-accredited landscape program in Oregon, by the college’s account.
Career programs at the three campuses
Clackamas awards Associate of Applied Science degrees of 90 credits or more, Certificates of Completion, short Career Pathway Certificates that stack toward them, and apprenticeship degrees, alongside transfer degrees. Every credit is a quarter credit. The table lists the main career programs from the 2026-27 catalog and the college’s program pages (October 2026). The catalog seldom says which campus teaches a program, so the table names one only where a college source does; a dash means the source gave no figure.
| Program | Credential (quarter credits) | Length and entry | Where | Accreditation or approval | Prepares for | Published cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nursing (RN) | AAS, 107 including 46 prerequisite | Six terms over two years; fall start; 30–36 seats | Harmony | ACEN; OSBN approval | NCLEX-RN | $14,347 estimate |
| Nursing Assistant | One course (NUR-100), 6.5 | 117 hours, 45 of them clinical | – | OSBN approval | Oregon CNA 1 exam | About $1,816–$1,856 |
| Medical Assistant | Certificate, 40 | Three terms; full-time cohort of 24 | Harmony labs; some hybrid or online | CAAHEP | CMA (AAMA) | $7,676 tuition and fees, plus course fees |
| Dental Assistant | Certificate, 54 | Nine months; closed cohort of 24 | Harmony labs; some online | Oregon Board of Dentistry approval (not CODA) | Oregon RHS, ICE and ORXG exams | $9,457–$9,741 |
| Medical Billing & Coding | Certificate, 37 | Three terms, winter to summer; 24 seats | Mostly online; orientation at Harmony | None | AAPC CPC and CPB | $6,338 |
| Phlebotomy | Certificate, 14 | Two terms part-time; cohorts of 16 | Harmony labs; online lectures | None | NHA CPT | $2,665 tuition and fees |
| Emergency Medical Technology | Certificate, 51–52; EMT pathway certificate, 12 | One year; two terms | Online or hybrid; sessions at Harmony | – | NREMT; Oregon EMT licence | $8,814 example (certificate) |
| Automotive Service Technology | AAS, 91; pathway certificates | Fall entry, capped seats | Oregon City | ASE Education Foundation (MAST) | – | – |
| Auto Body/Collision Repair & Refinishing | AAS, 92; pathway certificates | Self-paced; enter any term | – | – | I-CAR Pro Level I recognition | – |
| Welding Technology | AAS, 90–93; certificates; pathway certificate | Six months part-time (Initial Welding); one-year certificate | – | – | Welder certification course (WLD-110) | – |
| Machine Tool Technology | AAS, 92–97; certificates | Open lab, day and evening; enter any term | Oregon City (Holden ITC) | – | – | – |
| Industrial Maintenance; Mechatronics | AAS; certificates | – | Oregon City (Holden ITC) for Industrial Maintenance | – | – | – |
| Computer-Aided Drafting | Certificate, 24 | Three terms | – | – | – | – |
| Electrician Apprenticeship Technologies | AAS, 90; certificates | Alongside a 4,000–8,000-hour registered apprenticeship | – | – | Registered apprentices only; no licence guarantee | – |
| Landscape Management | AAS, 94–95; certificates | – | – | NALP | Oregon Landscape Contractors exam (GPA 2.5+) | – |
| Computer & Network Administration | AAS, 93–97; certificate | – | – | – | – | – |
| Full-Stack Web Development | AAS, 96–99; certificate | – | – | – | – | – |
| Digital Media Communications | AAS, 90–91; pathway certificates | – | – | – | – | – |
| Project Management | AAS, 92–93; certificates | – | – | – | PMP, with work experience | – |
| Early Childhood Education & Family Studies | AAS in English or Spanish; certificates | – | – | – | – | – |
Other career awards include Horticulture, Wildland Fire Management, Water & Environmental Technology, Renewable Energy Technology, Music Technology, Marketing, Criminal Justice, Human Services and Emergency Management. Art and computer science are offered as transfer pathways only, as are the engineering AS degrees; the engineering career awards are the Electronics Engineering Technology and Microelectronics Systems Technology AAS degrees. Renewable Energy Technology has no course titled solar or PV.
What the main programs cover
Nursing (RN)
The RN degree is a two-stage route. Students first complete 46 credits of prerequisites, then apply through NursingCAS for one of 30 to 36 seats; applications for the cohort starting in 2027 opened on 1 September 2026. Seats are awarded on a point system, with an interview or essay. The nursing courses run six terms over two years from a fall start at the Harmony campus and are part of the Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education. Admitted students need a background check, a drug screen, immunizations and BLS CPR.
Medical assistant
Medical Assistant students move through three terms as a full-time cohort of 24. Labs meet in person at Harmony, while other classes are offered in person, hybrid or online. The program includes MA-178, a seven-credit practicum, and the fee for the AAMA’s Certified Medical Assistant exam is built into course fees. Like other health programs, it is limited entry, with an application, a mandatory orientation and health-program requirements such as a background check and immunizations.
Dental assistant
Dental Assistant runs for three terms, nine months, as a closed full-time cohort of 24. Most hands-on work is in the dental labs at Harmony, with some coursework online, and students also complete dental externships. Fees cover the Oregon radiology proficiency (RHS) exam, the ICE exam and the ORXG exam for Oregon expanded function dental assistant (EFDA) status. The Oregon Board of Dentistry approves the program.
Phlebotomy
Phlebotomy is a part-time, two-term program for closed cohorts of 16, with two cohorts starting each year. Lectures are online; the 66 hours of hands-on lab practice take place at Harmony on Wednesdays and Fridays. Students then complete a 160-hour externship, and the fee for the NHA’s Certified Phlebotomy Technician exam is included. Expect a background check, drug screen and immunizations before clinical work.
Automotive service and collision repair
The two automotive programs are organised differently. Automotive Service Technology admits one capped cohort each fall to a 91-credit AAS taught by the Automotive Department at Oregon City, with career pathway certificates for under-car technicians working on automatic or manual transmissions along the way. Auto Body/Collision Repair & Refinishing is self-paced, so students can start in any term; its 92-credit AAS includes a term of cooperative work experience, and three shorter certificates split collision repair from refinishing.
Machine tool technology
Machine Tool Technology runs as an open lab in the Holden Industrial Technology Center at Oregon City, with day and evening hours, so students can enter in any term and fit lab time around work. Awards are the CNC Operator career pathway certificate, a Mastercam certificate, a Machine Tool Technology certificate and the 92- to 97-credit AAS. Machinist apprentices take related training through the same department.
Tuition for 2026-27 and how students pay
The Board of Education recommended the 2026-27 rates on 18 March 2026, and the college’s tuition page lists them, effective from the summer 2026 term:
- Resident rate: $136 per quarter credit (up from $130 in 2025-26). It covers residents of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California and Nevada; there is no separate in-district rate.
- Non-resident and international rate: $320 per credit (up from $311).
- Fees: a general student and technology fee of $14 per credit, a $40 per term college services fee, and course fees that vary by class.
A year of 45 credits over three terms works out to about $6,870 at the resident rate and about $15,150 at the non-resident rate, before course fees, books and supplies (our arithmetic from the published rates). Some programs publish their own totals, from $2,665 in tuition and fees for Phlebotomy to an estimated $14,347 for the RN degree. College Navigator puts the average net price for full-time beginning students who received grant aid at $4,610 in 2023-24.
Clackamas takes federal financial aid, including Pell Grants, and students also use the Oregon Opportunity Grant (for students taking at least six credits after a year of Oregon residency) and Oregon Promise, for recent high-school and GED graduates. The CCC Foundation awards more than $500,000 in scholarships a year through an application that opens on 30 January. TechHire funding covers Energy Systems Maintenance students aged 17 to 29 and incumbent workers.
The VET Center in the Wacheno Welcome Center (room WC 170) on the Oregon City campus handles Chapter 33 and Chapter 35 benefits, transferred GI Bill benefits, Defense Department tuition assistance and Oregon National Guard tuition assistance.
Admissions, starts and schedules
Clackamas has open admission, but many career programs have a separate limited-entry application and a mandatory orientation:
- Nursing (RN): about 46 credits of prerequisites, then a NursingCAS application and point system; the 2027 cohort application opened on 1 September 2026.
- Dental Assistant and Medical Assistant: cohorts of 24. Phlebotomy: cohorts of 16, twice a year.
- Medical Billing & Coding: 24 seats, applications by 3 November, with prerequisites in anatomy and physiology, medical terminology and writing.
- Health programs require a background check, drug screen, immunizations and BLS CPR.
- Apprenticeship degrees: JATC acceptance; the electrician degree also requires a sponsoring employer and BOLI registration.
Terms are quarters. Schedules differ by program: Machine Tool Technology runs an open lab with day and evening hours and entry in any term, collision repair is self-paced, automotive starts once a year in fall, Medical Billing & Coding meets virtually in the evenings, phlebotomy labs run on Wednesdays and Fridays, and Initial Welding is part-time.
Accreditation and results
Clackamas is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), which first accredited it in 1971. After its Year Seven evaluation in April 2023, NWCCU reaffirmed accreditation in June 2023, and the Spring 2026 Mid-Cycle Review found the college substantially compliant. NWCCU’s directory lists no sanction.
Program accreditors are ACEN for the Nursing (RN) degree, CAAHEP for Medical Assistant (on the recommendation of MAERB), the ASE Education Foundation at MAST level for Automotive Service Technology, and the National Association of Landscape Professionals for Landscape Management. The Oregon State Board of Nursing approves the RN program and the nursing assistant course, and the Oregon Board of Dentistry approves Dental Assistant, which is not CODA-accredited.
Published results:
| Program or measure | Result | Cohort and source |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing (RN) | First-time NCLEX-RN pass: 93% (28 candidates) | Calendar year 2025; Oregon State Board of Nursing, updated January 2026 |
| Nursing (RN) | First-time NCLEX-RN pass: 78% (18 candidates) | Calendar year 2024; same source |
| Medical Assistant | 96.83% credentialing-exam passage | Five-year average, 2020–2024; CCC program page |
| College-wide graduation | 23% within 150% of normal time; another 22% transferred out | Full-time, first-time students entering fall 2021; College Navigator (IPEDS) |
The college reports no pass or placement rates for Dental Assistant, Phlebotomy, Medical Billing & Coding, EMT, nursing assistant, automotive or welding, and publishes no college-wide job placement rate. Clackamas awarded 1,450 degrees and certificates in 2024-25.
Before you enroll
- Electrical and other apprenticeship degrees are not a way into a trade. They are classroom training for people already in a registered apprenticeship and accepted by a JATC (electrical apprentices also need a sponsoring employer and BOLI registration), and the catalog says the electrician degree does not guarantee licensure.
- The college is open admission, but many career programs are not. Nursing takes 30 to 36 students a year from more than 350 applicants, and Dental Assistant, Medical Assistant, Medical Billing & Coding, Phlebotomy and EMT all have their own applications, small cohorts and orientations.
- Check the accreditation that matters for your job. Dental Assistant is approved by the Oregon Board of Dentistry but not accredited by CODA, and Medical Billing & Coding and Phlebotomy have no program accreditation. The nursing assistant training is one course, not a certificate.
- Some programs are narrower than their names suggest. Fire training is wildland firefighting only, with no structural fire academy; EMT does not continue to paramedic; there is no practical nursing (LPN) program; and computer science and the engineering AS degrees are transfer degrees, not career awards; the career route is engineering technology, such as the Electronics Engineering Technology AAS.
- Ask where your classes meet and how you will pay. The catalog rarely names a campus, so welding, collision repair and several other programs have no confirmed location. The catalog’s aid page does not list which short certificates, or the nursing assistant course, qualify for federal aid.
Student support and work experience
Several programs build in time on the job: cooperative work experience in collision repair, computer and network administration, digital media and landscape management; the medical assistant practicum; the 160-hour phlebotomy externship; and dental assisting externships. On campus, the college runs a free food pantry, the Les de Asis Makerspace in the Holden Industrial Technology Center, the VET Center, and a Small Business Development Center at Harmony.
What students say
On Niche, Clackamas Community College averages 3.97 out of 5 from 508 reviews, with an overall grade of C+ (checked 9 October 2026). Reviewers most often praise caring, approachable instructors and small classes, low cost, the Oregon City campus, which they describe as attractive and safe, tutoring and support services, and good preparation for transfer. The most common complaints are unclear communication about transfer pathways and online tools, inconsistent advising, and little campus life at a commuter college. We could not see when individual reviews were posted, so we cannot say whether they cluster in time.
Sources
Checked 9 October 2026: CCC campuses · 2026-27 CCC catalog · CCC tuition and fees · Nursing (RN) program · NWCCU directory · Oregon State Board of Nursing NCLEX pass rates · College Navigator · Niche
Programs & Courses
Nursing and Health Sciences
- Nursing (RN), AAS (Harmony)
- Nursing Assistant (CNA 1 course, NUR-100)
- Medical Assistant (certificate)
- Dental Assistant (certificate)
- Medical Billing & Coding (certificate; mostly online)
- Phlebotomy (certificate)
- Emergency Medical Technology (certificate; EMT pathway certificate)
- Alcohol & Drug Counselor (pathway certificate)
- Fitness Specialist (certificate)
Automotive
- Automotive Service Technology (AAS, pathway certificates; Oregon City)
- Auto Body/Collision Repair & Refinishing Technology (AAS, pathway certificates)
Welding and Industrial Technology
- Welding Technology (AAS, certificate; Initial Welding certificate; Entry Level Welder pathway certificate)
- Machine Tool Technology (AAS, certificate; CNC Operator pathway certificate; Mastercam certificate)
- Computer-Aided Manufacturing (AAS)
- Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD) (certificate)
- Industrial Maintenance Technology (AAS, certificate)
- Mechanical Maintenance (certificate)
- Mechatronics (certificate)
- Energy Systems Maintenance (certificate)
- Renewable Energy Technology (AAS, certificate)
- Electronics Engineering Technology and Microelectronics Systems Technology (AAS, certificates)
Apprenticeship (registered apprentices only)
- Electrician Apprenticeship Technologies (AAS, certificate; Limited License Electrician pathway certificate)
- Industrial Mechanics & Maintenance Technology Apprenticeship (AAS)
- Construction Trades General Apprenticeship, including plumbing and painting (AAS, certificate)
- Machinist apprenticeship
- PGE Line, Meter & Wire (PGE employees only)
Landscape, Horticulture and Natural Resources
- Landscape Management, with Arboriculture option (AAS)
- Landscape Practices (certificate); Irrigation Technician and Plant Health Management (pathway certificates)
- Horticulture (AAS, certificate); Organic Farming (certificate)
- Water & Environmental Technology (AAS, certificate)
- Wildland Fire Management (AAS, certificate, pathway certificates; wildland only)
Computing and Digital Media
- Computer & Network Administration (AAS, certificate)
- Full-Stack Web Development (AAS); Front-End Web Development (certificate)
- Computer Application Specialist (certificate)
- GIS Technology (certificate)
- Digital Media Communications (AAS; Video Production Technician and Entry Level Journalist pathway certificates)
- Music Technology (AAS, certificate)
Business
- Accounting (AAS); Accounting Clerk (certificate)
- Administrative Professional (AAS); Administrative Assistant (certificates)
- Business (AAS); Business Management (certificate)
- Human Resource Management (certificate)
- Marketing (certificate)
- Project Management (AAS, certificate)
Education, Human Services and Public Service
- Early Childhood Education & Family Studies, in English or Spanish (AAS, certificates)
- Child Care Specialist Apprenticeship (certificate)
- CTE Licensure Prep (certificate)
- Human Services Generalist (AAS, certificate)
- Criminal Justice, with Corrections option (AAS); Juvenile Corrections (certificate)
- Emergency Management Professional (AAS, certificate)
Campus Locations
Portland (Oregon City), OR 19600 Molalla Avenue, Oregon City, OR 97045
Portland (Milwaukie), OR 7738 SE Harmony Road, Milwaukie, OR 97222
Portland (Wilsonville), OR 29353 SW Town Center Loop East, Wilsonville, OR 97070