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The largest higher-education system in the world will see its student enrollment drop for the first time in five years due to the effects of the state’s budget deficit.
 
The California Community Colleges will lose some 21,000 students this school year, according to Chancellor Jack Scott. That amounts to a decline of about 1 percent across the system. Meanwhile, course availability throughout the state has also been cut by about 5 percent this school year.
 
Santa Ana College is a stark example of the California system’s retrenchment. The school’s enrollment dropped by about 5,000 students from spring 2009 to the following school year—almost 20 percent.
 
SAC also cut about 10 percent of its classes each of the two semesters this school year, which has had a tangible effect on the educational experience of the remaining students.

"Our classes are now fuller," said Vice President of Academic Affairs Norman Fujimoto. "Some classes that had 20 or 25 students now have 40."
 
The California Legislative Analyst’s Office has proposed one fairly unoriginal way to bring back funding for classes. In a new report, it recommended to the community colleges that they increase their fee per unit from $26 to $40.

Thousands of students across California have been protesting tuition hikes since September in demonstrations that have occasionally turned violent. Last semester, the Board of Regents at the University of California approved a 32 percent fee hike over the next year, sending students state-wide into a frenzy of pickets and building occupations.

The California Colleges are facing other structural issues as well, according to administrators, faculty and students. Students have a hard time transferring credits from community college to state universities, and an even harder time meeting tuition costs once they get to the larger state schools.
 
"Moving in the wrong direction in terms of educating our population could be fairly disastrous for our economy," said Chancellor Scott. "We must look at the fundamental needs of California and the consequences we will be faced with if we fail to meet those needs."
 

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