Counselors at John C. Fremont High School in South Los Angeles are encouraging students to apply to community college as an alternative to four-year universities despite budget-related cutbacks at the community college level.
“We’re actually pushing the community college a little bit harder than we did last year. Due to the different budget crisis and the kids actually getting letters and stuff now, saying they’re being denied (from state schools),” said advisor David Citizen.
The California State University system will cut 10,000 incoming students for the 2009-2010 academic year despite receiving more than $500 million from stimulus funds. The California Community Colleges, which serves more than 2.7 million students in 110 community colleges across the state, will not be able to provide assistance to these additional students due to a nearly $7.4 billion budget cut to schools and community colleges.
Counselors said that even with this lack of resources, community college is more than a back-up plan; it’s a viable option.
“Community college is just another option for college that people are more aware of now,” said Citizen.
Aurora Martinez, a college counselor at Fremont, agrees that community college selection should be taken seriously.
“No matter if the student applies to a Cal State, or private school, they should apply to community college. We don’t know what’s going to happen, so we always want to have a Plan B or a Plan C,” she said.
Although the counselors are pushing community college applications, Martinez said they are aware of the setbacks facing the institutions.
“The problem with community colleges is the students won’t have the opportunity to take all the classes they need to take because they’ll be overcrowded,” said Martinez.
Overcrowding isn’t the only factor. Community colleges may have to turn student’s away, cut classes and intersessions, or cap the number of students at the school, which would be detrimental to students flocking to community college in the face of rejection from state schools.
“It’s whole lot of pressure on community college system now to actually take the bulk of all these other students. Not just from Cal State but (from the University of California system) also,” said Citizen.
Thousands of students are expected to enroll in community colleges in the incoming months, as the fiscal situation at four-year universities is likely to increase the number of students who may be forced to attend community college.
Los Angeles City College, which serves nearly 23,000 students, has seen a 16 percent increase in the past semester, according to Jamillah Moore, the president of L.A. City College.
“We have an increased number of students but limited resources. So, our challenge is trying to find ways to continue to provide service to students while we have less state funds, less resources overall,” said Moore.
The increase in enrollment and lack of funding caused L.A. City College to reduce the number of classes being offered.
“If the class doesn’t start out the first day full, it’s not a class worth keeping in the schedule, we’ll cancel the course because of the reduced dollars and the budget,” said Moore.
Some students are also seeking more education to combat the growing job competition, said Moore.
“We are finding more students are coming back to get retrained in other careers or come back to college and start earning units to move towards a degree so they have better opportunities when the economy bounces back,” she said.
Moore says that although they’ve seen an influx of students, they haven’t stopped accepting new prospective enrollees.
“We’re already at cap. We just no longer receive state apportioned dollars for the additional students that are over cap,” she said.
Some students at Fremont, a high school with nearly 5,000 students, hope community college remains an option for higher education.
“I heard that the college I want to apply to… they’re dropping thousands of students, maybe I won’t be able to go there, so there’s always community college,” said senior Tyrone McClure.
Martinez said that while students are aware of the financial crisis, it’s difficult to explain the importance of timely applications to the seniors.
“They are 17 and 18 years old. They’re seniors suffering from ‘senioritis.’ They want to have fun. It’s difficult for them to understand they need to take care of business as soon as possible because the situation is different this year,” she said.
So different, Martinez said, that the number of students who applied to out-of-state schools and online universities has increased due to the economy.
But Martinez said this is not the norm.
“At inner-cities schools…not a lot (of student’s) apply out-of-state. They’re the first generation going to college. They’re very afraid of leaving home; going far away. It’s really difficult because they’re afraid,” she said.
Martinez said the economic crisis isn’t merely affecting students on a school-wide level.
“These kids are suffering first-hand from the financial crisis because their parents aren’t working anymore. This gives them more instability and (they have to) plan (for college) in a different way because their parents won’t be able to help at all,” said Martinez.
Students, however, remain optimistic they’ll end up at the university of their choice.
“The economy will work itself out. I hope it works out,” said McClure.
Interviews:
Jamillah Moore discusses why L.A. City College students are at most risk.
Moore speaks on less class offerings, teacher lay offs, and capping the number of students at L.A. City College.
David Citizen, a college advisor at Fremont, describes the students’ worries about college, and how they feel they’ve taken the SAT’s for no reason.
Aurora Martinez, a college counselor at Fremont High, discusses how the economy is affecting the students at home.
Related Links:
California’s community colleges near the breaking point
Los Angeles City College
John C. Fremont High School
Schwarzenegger signs California budget bill
CSU cuts 10,000 students
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- Los Angeles City College
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- Community college information
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- David Citizen, Fremont advisor
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- Jamillah Moore, President of LA City College
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- Fremont senior Tyrone McClure, David Citizen
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- Students filling out college applications at Fremont
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- Cal State University: Long Beach
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- College banners
