Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a plan to guarantee college
access to the approximately 28,000 students who will be blocked
from attending California State University and University of
California campuses this year.
That proposal, though, to allow the shutout students an
opportunity to enroll at community colleges for free, doesn’t pass
any reasonable standard for fairness.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a plan to guarantee college access to the approximately 28,000 students who will be blocked from attending California State University and University of California campuses this year.
That proposal, though, to allow the shutout students an opportunity to enroll at community colleges for free, doesn’t pass any reasonable standard for fairness.
In the governor’s budget recommendations for the next fiscal year, Schwarzenegger proposed that CSU and UC send 10 percent of their fall freshmen to community colleges. Such a decision, the governor estimates, would save the state $46 million because Sacramento forks over less money to support community colleges than it does for UC and CSU students.
Indeed, according to data provided by the state Legislative Analyst Office, this year the state spent $4,100 per community college student as opposed to $7,200 per CSU student and $14,300 per UC student.
With some community college classrooms around the state bursting at the seams from heavy enrollment, it hardly seems fair to existing students to add to the overflow with thousands of CSU and UC students, especially if they’re attending gratis.
Far less equitable than the notion of shuffling or even shutting out community college students to accommodate CSU and UC transferees is the governor’s proposal to offer CSU and UC students a complimentary ride while at the community colleges.
Put simply, why should community college students – many of whom are from lower-income families – have to shell out a projected average of $780 per school year while CSU and UC students, many of whom are from high-income households, could get through next year’s academic program for nothing?
If the governor’s plan is enacted, it will be galling for community college students to find out that they are paying for tuition while CSU and UC students in their midst won’t – particularly after learning that their fees may go up from $18 to $26 per class unit, if approved by the Legislature.
In principal, there is nothing wrong with the governor’s idea to afford CSU and UC students the chance to enter a dual admission program that would put them on a track to transfer over to a specific CSU or UC campus after completing undergraduate requirements at a community college.
Nothing wrong, that is, as long as they pay their way just like every other community college student.
