HIGHER EDUCATION ‘mdash; President Barack Obama’s plan to make the United States the best-educated nation in the world by 2020 is an admirable one, but it presents a huge problem: Not everyone can afford a university education. Recent California budget cuts will make paying for school in the Golden State especially difficult, leaving many to choose community college. In order to see the kind of transformation Obama hopes to foster, the government must strengthen community colleges with federal funding.
Education builds a better-prepared workforce, and it’s up to the federal government to prioritize accesible schooling. Limiting affordable education will lead to an underprepared state, making economic recovery even more ominous.
The May 19 special election included six propositions designed to minimize the $21 billion state deficit. But because five of those measures failed, funding cuts to community colleges have become inevitable ‘mdash; the system now stands to lose approximately $825 million over the next 13 months.
The California community college system estimates that it will be forced to reduce enrollment by over 250,000 (more than the University of California’s entire enrollment) ‘mdash; unless federal funding comes to the rescue.
According to Erik Skinner, vice chancellor for fiscal policy at California Community Colleges, community colleges lost their cost-of-living adjustments for both 2008-09 and 2009-10, resulting in a $570 million loss in spending power. Such a drastic loss in economic means has stretched the colleges to their breaking point. With extended wait lists and overcrowded classrooms, community colleges need a funding surge to accommodate their increasing numbers. Instead, the continuing financial cuts have brough
t the system to the brink of collapse.
San Diego’s district is one of the few to have no current debt, but it’s still preparing for a severe loss in funding due to budget cuts. San Diego Community College District Chancellor Constance M. Carroll said she hopes to keep employees by reducing annual salaries, but is concerned about the negative effects students will face. More than 600 classes in the district have already been cut this year, despite a 10 percent enrollment increase ‘mdash; and with slashed funding, Carroll expects the situation to get worse.
Though it’s unlikely that California students will be denied admission to community colleges, as demand rises and funding plummets fewer will be able to actually enroll. Students on waiting lists have little to no hope of getting into already overcrowded classes.
According to Collegenews.com, the California Community College system alone expects an enrollment increase of up to 33 percent this coming year.
California Community Colleges currently rely on money from both a depleted state general fund and property taxes to stay afloat ‘mdash; which, with the recession at work, will not be enough to meet the high demand. Those sources can’t provide the stable funding needed to guarantee higher education access to all who seek it, which is what community colleges were designed to do.
On May 8, Obama said more support for higher education could help resolve our economic crisis. He suggested that someone without a college degree is almost twice as likely to be unemployed compared to college graduates, reiterating how important accessible higher education is ‘mdash; especially through community colleges. Federal aid for community colleges would provide the underprivileged with increased opportunities for upward mobility, and, in turn, would boost the economy as a whole.
The Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program, a nonprofit public policy organization and research institution, offered suggestions to the Obama administration, hoping to increase community college affordability and accessibility. Brookings recommends community colleges rely on more federal funding.
In his as-yet-unapproved 2010 fiscal year budget, Obama proposed greater Pell Grant funding, increasing the maximum award from $5,350 to $5,550. Given that community college students currently receive 35 percent of Pell Grants, this proposal is a step in the right direction. But in order to alleviate underfunding and overcrowding, the administration must do more.
If Obama plans to improve higher education, community colleges cannot be left out of the picture. They must remain a viable, accessible option in the entire country, and failing to invest in these useful institutions will have extremely negative repercussions. Higher unemployment and more unqualified workers will cause a ripple effect reaching far into the future.
More than ever, California community colleges should be witnessing an increase in funding to match their application overload, rather than losing millions of dollars. Obama’s budget proposal also calls for the creation of a $2.5 billion College Access and Completion Fund, designed to increase college completion rates among low-income students.
In order to increase upward mobility through education, the majority of this new funding should be directed toward community colleges because they hold the greatest potential for increasing access to higher education.
Until federal funding pulls through, California Community Colleges should ‘mdash; as Carroll has in the San Diego district ‘mdash; freeze hiring to avoid further cuts to student services. As integral as faculty members are to maintaining instructional quality, this is no time to increase the staff payroll; the focus must remain on students.
Federal funding could provide community colleges with the means to address their increased demand. Obama said on May 8 that ‘in a 21st century economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, education is the single best bet we can make ‘mdash; not just for our individual success, but for the success of the nation as a whole.’
If we, as a nation, hope to make that safe bet, we must increase access to education ‘mdash; which begins by providing community colleges with the financial resources they desperately need.
Readers can contact Gabriella Capisani at [email protected].