Facing a depleted budget and increasing enrollment, the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office has recently discussed the option of limiting the number of times community college students can retake classes they’ve failed.

Within the next several months, Chancellor Jack Scott hopes to present a proposal to the California Community Colleges Board of Governors that would eliminate state reimbursement — funding independent of financial aid provided by the state government to partially cover tuition expenses — to
community colleges for students who retake a course more than four times.

This plan is a response to 8-percent funding cuts for Californian community colleges during the 2009-10 academic year. On Nov. 18, 2010, Scott spoke to the California Community College League Conference, outlining “where we have been, where we are, and where we want to be.” Offering solutions to the state’s financial mess, he stressed two important goals of state community colleges: saving money and boosting the success rates of students.

According to Vice Chancellor Terri Carbaugh, capping the number of times a student may repeat a course to four would save the state roughly $1.5 million annually and free up approximately 740 student
seats in the 2.5-million student population at the state’s 112 two year institutions — but every
bit counts. A four-time retake limit would give a fair number of hard-working students a better chance to enroll in courses currently filled by students retaking them.

Over 33,000 community college students in California have retaken at least one credit bearing course more than five times in the last academic year. The most-retaken courses were in physical education.

California community colleges have traditionally valued their common high-accessibility mission. This mission to serve all eligible students seeking admission won’t be compromised by Scott’s proposal.

Anyone who seeks enrollment at a two-year institution — whether to transfer to a four-year institution, graduate with an associate’s degree, or take remedial high school level classes — will still be welcomed.

But when it comes to cutting costs, some inevitably are left behind. “Being the economy that it is,
you’d like to be able to offer more to more people, but we just can’t, because we’re so dependent on
the state for funding,” Mia McClellan, dean of student services at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, said.

Southwestern College in Chula Vista already has a rule that allows only two attempts at passing a course. The college is doing well today — with an enrollment of approximately 19,000 students and around $13
million in financial aid.

According to Carbaugh, a small number of students would be unable to fulfill certain course requirements. “As much as we’re here to provide access, we’re also here to serve those who desire to transfer or earn
a degree,” Carbaugh said.

If reforms like Scott’s can better serve those students without hurting everyday operations, state community
colleges would be wise to pursue them.

Readers can contact Arik Burakovsky
at [email protected].