It would seem there are a substantial number of students in California that are relying on local community colleges to provide them with the education they need. Fortunately for them, nearly all of California’s community colleges are willing to dip into their reserves to enroll these unfunded students. Still, though, many of these schools have waiting lists in the thousands as the price of higher education rises and there just aren’t enough paid-for chairs to go around.
Of course, this also raises the issue of whether the number of students being added to the classrooms will have a detrimental impact on the quality of education students can expect to receive at one of these colleges. For example, College of the Sequoias has increased their average class size by about 20% (from 26 to 31 students per class) in addition to using almost $2 million from its reserves to accommodate some students who would probably have had to wait until next year (perhaps longer) to enter college otherwise and whose prospects of employment would not have been very good, either.
With unemployment as high as 18% in the surrounding region, College of the Sequoias’ president Bill Scroggins feels it is his duty to do all he can to make sure as many of these folks as possible have the opportunity to receive a post-secondary education. In Mt. San Jacinto College’s immediate surroundings the unemployment rate is at 15% and, consequently, more than 25% of its students are unfunded. While these schools have not yet furloughed faculty or cut their pay, many other budgetary cuts have been made, such as eliminating travel and conference budgets. Clearly these are short-term solutions and a more permanent solution will need to be found, but at least some of the unfunded students are being taken-in and given an opportunity to get the education they will need in order to work toward their desired career.
Apparently, while California’s economy is running at a high deficit, there are these small bastions of efficient colleges who managed to put away some of their assets for a few years’ worth of rainy days. Hopefully the economy that surrounds them will turn around before their reserves are depleted and the would-be students in the surrounding communities find themselves entirely dependent upon state and federal funding.
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