California community colleges have smaller budgets, higher fees, fewer class offerings and, out of necessity, more mobile students.
The number of students forced to attend more than one community college at a time—seeking to complete the requisite number of courses to complete a course of study or advance to a four-year school—has more than doubled, from 2.2% in 1992 to 5.2% in 2011. It may be one of the reasons California ranks 36th nationally in the percentage of students who graduate with a certificate or a degree.
California community colleges have seen their annual budgets whacked $809 million since 2008 and face a devastating $250 mid-semester cut in Governor Jerry Brown’s Proposition 30 doesn’t pass November 6. Few of the state’s 112 community colleges still offer the once popular 13-week winter session to their 2.6 million students and class offerings have been substantially reduced.
Course offerings have dropped 25% since 2008. Required classes that were once offered every semester are more likely now to only be offered once a year. A survey of 78 schools found almost half a million students were on waiting lists for classes.
Students, who often attend the two-year schools because of financial limitations, are more frequently forced to choose between commuting greater distances or extending the time it takes to reach their goal. The price of gasoline, the cost of multiple trips on mass transit, or the impact on employment can make that debate moot.
According to the Los Angeles Times, research by the L.A. college district found that students who commute to more than one campus get worse grades than those who don’t.
Valley College Geography Professor Donald J. Gauthier, who is president of the Academic Senate in the Los Angeles Community College District, told the Times, “Students are more aware of the fact that sections are being cut and less is being offered; they are panicking.”
–Ken Broder
To Learn More:
More Community College Students Commuting to Multiple Campuses (by Carla Rivera, Los Angeles Times)
Community Colleges Kill Winter Sessions (by Ken Broder, AllGov California)
Updating the California Community Colleges to Meet Evolving Demands (Little Hoover Commission)