State community colleges set to ration classes

During World War II, there was food rationing. In 2012, California?s community college leaders are poised to approve education rationing for thousands of students.

The proposal is controversial, with many students and educators critical of a shakeout that could end free courses offered for generations, including classes such as music appreciation and memoir writing. Also squeezed out would be students who linger at college for years, sampling one class after another.

The problem is as basic as a butter shortage. Essential classes are in critically short supply as the state?s economic crisis lumbers on. Last year, 137,000 students couldn?t get into at least one class they needed, including first-year English and math. And many who are entitled to financial aid never apply for it because there aren?t enough counselors to help them navigate the complex process.

60% dropout rate

The result is a dropout rate of 60 percent among students who expect to transfer to a four-year university or earn a vocational certificate, according to a 2010 study by the Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy in Sacramento.

Fixing the problem will require overhauling the vast community college system, according to a task force of 20 academics and college advocates who have wrestled with the issue for a year. Established by the Legislature in 2010, the Student Success Task Force wants campuses to do a better job of helping students reach academic goals, and it wants students to move more quickly and efficiently through school.

But it won?t be done with more money. Lawmakers cut $502 million this year from the system?s $5.9 billion budget, on top of hundreds of millions withheld since 2009.

Instead, the task force wants to change how colleges spend the money they already have. Or, as Chancellor Jack Scott plainly put it, ?It?s not joyful to have to ration.?

The backbone of the panel?s 22 recommendations is to focus community college resources on students seeking degrees or vocational certificates. All students should have an education plan and make steady progress on it. Those who don?t would lose registration priority. Those who qualify for a tuition waiver ? 47 percent of students ? would lose it if they are unfocused and take too many random classes.

via State community colleges set to ration classes.

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