For students today, that thought—once a reality—is as good as a dream, especially since community colleges will now face an increase in enrollment fees for the 2011-2012 academic year.
California Community College Chancellor Jack Scott commented on Gov. Brown’s 2011-2012 budget plan in a recent statement to the media. The chancellor wrote that if the state’s community colleges have to sustain more budget constraints, about 350,000 students will be turned away next year.
And cutting higher education is a move Scott believes would be an economic mistake.
“Remember, higher education is not a cost to California, but an investment,” he said in the release.
Scott added that if 2 percent more California residents earned an associate degree, the state’s economy would grow by $20 billion, state and local tax revenue would increase by $1.2 billion a year, and about 174,000 jobs would be created.
Currently, community college students are paying $26 a unit, but the governor’s proposal will take the price up an additional $10, amounting to $36 a unit. The cost to full-time students would rise from $780 a year by 38 percent—$1,080 per academic year.
Although an increase in enrollment fees is going to happen, Allan Hancock College officials don’t know when the fee hike will start. In the absence of any concrete dates, the college is working under the assumption that fees could go up as early as fall of this year.
In the past, Chancellor Scott had instructed community colleges considering courses for the chopping block to ensure classes that led to job retraining, degrees, certificates, transferring, and basic English and math skills were left alone.
Those classes, however, are no longer sacred; they’re at risk to cuts.
Rebecca Alarcio, head of Allan Hancock College’s Public Affairs Department, has said the college won’t be able to offer as many courses as it has in the past.
Right now, Hancock is working on reducing its budget to compensate for a $4 million reduction.
“We have been told by the state to reduce our full-time equivalent students,” Alarcio said.
Hancock will see a drop in full-time equivalent students from more than 10,000 to 9,232. However, the college will reach into its own pockets to bring the number up to 9,500.
Employees and benefits account for more than 8 percent of the school’s budget. Vice President of Administrative Services Betty Miller told the Sun one path the college is considering taking is an early retirement program. The caveat, though, is that for the program to float, at least six faculty members and six other staff members have to participate. The program will save about $600,000.
If the retirement program works, the school will replace the retirees with newer instructors, who come with smaller price tags than their more experienced counterparts. There’s also the chance that a retiring instructor’s course-load would be dropped.
In the meantime, Hancock has enacted a hiring freeze. There’s also been a reduction in equipment purchases.
Hancock’s Associated Student Body Government president, Eddie Triste, knows all about the challenges that come with a tight budget. All of his courses are packed with more than 30 students each, and he had trouble registering for the courses he needed at the right times for him.
“I was placed on the waitlist for my morning calculus class, and I didn’t get in,” Triste said. “Luckily, I got into the night class.”
Triste’s early semester waitlist debacle may become the norm for the 2011-2012 academic year as classes drop away without sustaining funds.
Triste hopes Gov. Brown’s tax extensions make it on the June ballot, because the people Triste believes are being ignored by state legislators will be able to make a decision.
If Gov. Brown’s tax extension fails to land on the June ballot, or if the electorate denies the tax extension, Hancock and the rest of the state’s community colleges could face more fiscal woes.
Instead of a $4 million budget hurdle, Hancock will be looking at an $8 to $9 million setback.
“I’m hoping that students are patient,” Alarcio said.
Despite the fee increase for the 2011-2012 academic year, Alarcio said a wide variety of courses will be offered at the usual cost of $26 per unit over the 2011 summer session.
Contact Intern Henry Houston at intern@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 24-31, 2011.