Community Colleges Realize Modest Gains in the Governor’s May Revision but Still Face an Uphill Battle

California community colleges were dealt a serious blow when they were advised in March of a statewide reduction to the current year community college budget due to an unexpected drop in property tax revenue. When tax revenues are below the estimated amount, K-12 districts have a guaranteed property tax backfill so they will not be affected. Community colleges have no such guarantee. This news came on the heels of a current year budget reduction of $31 million by the Legislature and Governor Schwarzenegger in February during the Special Session for the fiscal emergency. The Governor’s revised spending plan provides some fiscal relief. It proposes to backfill $75 million of the $92 million property tax shortfall. It also calls for community colleges to receive an additional $35.5 million in enrollment growth funding which will allow the colleges to serve 20,000 more full-time equivalent students than under the January proposal. Finally, the Administration is proposing to keep community college fees stable at $20 per unit.

Although the Governor’s May revision manages to restore some funding, California’s community college system, which is already among the lowest funded in the nation, will bear significant cuts ($447 million shortfall) at a time it can ill afford to do so. For instance, despite having restored $35 million to address enrollment growth, the Governor’s plan will fall woefully short of addressing the projected enrollment demand because enrollment growth is now outpacing the available funding to cover the costs of serving community college students. It is projected that this year alone, community colleges will serve 38,000 unfunded community college students. This translates into a loss of $44.5 million in funding that community colleges thought they would be getting for enrollment, but will not be provided because growth is surpassing available state funds. And next year, the situation will worsen according to Department of Finance demographic projections. The number of unfunded community college students is expected to grow to 74,000.

The Governor’s proposed $80 million reduction in categorical programs will also cause significant pain for community colleges. Financial aid and comprehensive support programs such as the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) have significant impacts on student success rates. Both have been shown to improve the rates for earning Associate degrees, certificates and transfers. While all groups benefit from them, for Latinos, Filipinos and African Americans either in EOPS or with financial aid, the rates for earning Associate’s degrees and certificates double.

A tighter budget will not be the only thing squeezing community colleges.
They are also likely to bear the burden of as many as 15,000 additional students who will be pushed out of the California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) systems for fall 2008. CSU closed admissions as of March 1 at all 23 campuses for first-time freshmen and has already been forced to turn away 10,000 qualified students for the coming fall semester. Community colleges cannot close their doors to new students, but they will be severely constrained in adding more classes under the governor’s proposal.

Proposed Community College Budget Cuts Jeopardize Student Access and Equity

If Governor Schwarzenegger’s budget proposals to drastically reduce funding to community colleges are approved, access to an education for students, many of which have no other place to go, may be jeopardized. While the fiscal outlook for the community college system is troubling, the impact of budget cuts on student access and success is even more problematic. The first causalities of funding cuts, significant reductions in courses offered, cutbacks or elimination of high cost programs such as nursing, reduced sections of multiple-section courses and crowded classrooms, will pose significant challenges for students to fit courses around their work schedules and child care arrangements. Students who are “less savvy” in navigating an increasingly crowded and competitive environment will be left behind. Currently, it takes students at California’s community colleges an average of 3.4 years to transfer to a four-year institution and 3.5 years to earn an Associate’s degree. The reduction in course offerings may cause further delay of completion or transfer.

Hopeful News on Proposed Cal Grant B Cuts

On May 28th, the Assembly's budget subcommittee on education voted 3-1 to reject the governor's proposed elimination of the Competitive Cal Grant program. The Senate's budget subcommittee on education took a similar action on May 23rd. In his January budget, the Governor proposed eliminating all new competitive Cal Grants and did not restore this funding as part of the May revision. Under the Governor’s proposal, new awards for the Cal Grant B Competitive program would be eliminated, resulting in a $57.4 million cut. Cal Grant B awards provide up to $1,551 for books and living expenses for first-year students. According to a recent study by The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS), the proposal would cut new grants to com¬munity college students by 45 percent – or about 18,500 students this fall.

Expanding Educational Opportunities
Guest Article by Phillip Maynard, Chair of the Equity and Diversity Action Committee

In a growing global economy, the social and economic foundation of the nation is dependent upon the educational level of its workforce. Therefore, we must not only ensure that educational opportunities are available to all students, but that these same students achieve equitable educational outcomes. Outcomes, as opposed to access, will ensure that historically underrepresented students will possess the needed credentials to gain economic, social and political power to function in a more global society. At the last Academic Senate Plenary Session in Anaheim, I heard comments from several faculty about the difficulty in finding ways to train faculty in working with their diverse student populations. Many community colleges continue to employ traditional modes of faculty development and possibly could be creating potential harmful learning environments for all students, especially historically underachieving students who are challenged as a result of poverty, lack of English fluency and achievement gaps experienced by racial and ethnic minorities. In a recent survey conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates that was released by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, business leaders indicated that 63% of graduates are not prepared for the global economy. The association’s president Carol Geary Schneider further reported that survey findings “suggests colleges and universities look for new ways to demonstrate student success.” She continues, “We need to invent new forms of accountability that look at such issues as global knowledge and self direction and intercultural competence, not just at critical thinking and communication skills.” This certainly poses an interesting challenge for us as community college professors. In our classrooms, we see the changing demographics of our students, especially for those of us teaching in large urban environments. The California Postsecondary Education Commission reported in 2007, that the California Community Colleges served a total of 1,547,742 students, of which 187,217 were Asian/Pacific Islanders, 114,670 were African Americans, 56,088 were Filipino, 442,663 were Latino, 13,512 were Native Americans, and 561,656 were White. Examining the demographics one can see the increasing percentage of students of color. The effectiveness of the success rates, whether vocational or transfers, within the community college system are dependent upon faculty who understand the needs of their diverse students. Institutional research has shown moderate improvement within the achievement gap at the community college level; however educational and economic stratification along racial and ethnic lines still prevails. The achievement gap still reflects a disparity between minority and White students.

Success rates are monitored to help identify gatekeeper courses; however, are African American and Latino students succeeding at the same rate as other groups? As a speech communications professor I recognize the continuing achievement gap; therefore I’m constantly looking for ways of implementing strategies and techniques that can encourage retention and success in my classes. I want my students to become global thinkers and develop their communication skills to reach beyond the classroom as they learn about the challenges in the world around them. It’s more than sitting next to someone in class that happens to look different or for whom English isn’t her first language. What’s critical is the interaction and engagement that I create during instruction. My students not only must perform in class, they must dialogue with each other. Questions about diversity, identity, community, privilege, oppression, power and responsibility as these issues relate to themselves are critical to learning. This enables students to understand how cultural factors influence communication. An important factor for teaching is to consider our own knowledge of the student population. How much do we know about our students and their backgrounds?

What do we bring through our instruction so that students see themselves within an inclusive educational environment, not located on the sidelines where they merely get a glimpse of their contributions. This further raises a series of questions for us as faculty to ponder:

1. Do professional development activities at your college explore the notion of culture and identify the student’s culture as a key part to learning?
2. Within professional development activities does your campus allow for an open and honest discussion about race and its influence upon us as faculty? How is it discussed?
3. Do your professional development activities provide a means for faculty to evaluate their own attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions about students of color?
4. Do you consider or address African American and Latino students’ needs when designing your course content? How is this devised?

In addition to these questions there are other issues as well:

1. Are diversity, access and equity values or goals included in your college’s mission statement? And if so, are these issues and objectives accounted for in the SLO development process?
2. Is the SLO development process aligned with your campus’ Student Equity Plan? For example, are the findings about disparities in student academic outcomes being used to account for student equity in the SLO development process?
3. Are attempts being made to include for all classes diversity-related knowledge and capacities that might be considered as universal learning outcomes (e.g. learning how to understand and value multiple perspectives, etc.)?

These are just a few thoughts that need to be discussed on our campuses, and no matter how uncomfortable it may be, this could be a starting point for improving the quality of our teaching.

Thanks to a new, first-of-its-kind program at California Tomorrow, a core group of community college students will gain hands-on experience on student equity issues in California, such as affordability (e.g., fees policies, costs of text books, gaps in financial aid) as well as the need to significantly expand student access to high impact student support programs. Under the program called, Raising Student Voice for Access & Equity in Community College Project, community college students are provided with the support needed to engage in dialogues that are currently driving reforms on their campuses and at the system and state levels. The program is designed to help students connect with and contextualize what they have experienced in the classroom and on campus. Students gain a solid understanding of community college financing, budget issues and practices that significantly impact first-generation college goers, immigrant students, low-income students, and students of color.

College of Sequoias Interns

I would like to work in a community college in the future. This internship
program gave me a lot of important information and ideas about it.
I think I better understood community college and the students now.

-Merced College Intern

California Tomorrow launched Raising Student Voice for Access & Equity in January 2008 at Merced College and College of the Sequoias in the central valley. Students developed research projects and engaged other students, faculty, staff and administrators through interviews and surveys. The results of their efforts provide some new insights about affordability and the need for continued student supports.

Contact Anne Price if you are interested in learning more about offering an Access and Equity Internship on your campus.

Study Finds Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Access to Federal Loans

A recent report by The Institute of Access and Success finds that at least one million community college students, one in ten nationally, do not have access to federal student loans – the safest, most affordable way to borrow for college. The report, Denied: Community College Students Lack Access to Affordable Loans, finds racial and ethnic disparities in access to federal loans. Nationally one in five African American and Native American students – compared to one in ten White community college students – attend schools that do not participate in the federal loan programs. Eight community colleges in California do not participate in the federal loan program, representing 8.3% of all community college students.

Financial aid administrators assert that they deny access to federal loans due to the fear of high default rates, which could potentially jeopardize a school's ability to distribute any type of federal aid. According to the report, however, sanctions for high default rates are not very common and can be avoided by providing financial counseling to students and by helping borrowers in repayment use deferrals and affordable repayment options.

Data Reveal Transfer Gaps Among Community College Students

A report issued by Long Beach City College and the University of Southern California Center for Urban Education shows there are transfer gaps in two areas. First, there is a gap in the number of students who have met the requirements of transfer and the number who actually transfer. Secondly, there is a “choice gap” in the number of students who meet requirements to attend selective four-year instructions (as determined by UC eligibility) and the number who actually choose to do so. Missing 87: A Study of the “Transfer Gap” and “Choice Gap, examines the outcomes of a cohort of 520 students who completed transfer. Findings reveal that only 20 percent of students eligible to transfer to a UC did so. Another 53 percent of students eligible to transfer to a UC ended up going to a CSU. More than one in five students who were eligible to transfer to either a UC or CSU did not end up transferring at all.

Read the report

Many Adults Left Behind
June 2, 2008
Inside Higher Ed

Financial Aid at California Community Colleges: Pell Grants and Fee Waivers in 2003-04
May 2008
MPR Associates

Cumulative Impact: How Cuts to Higher Education and the Cal Grant program in the Recent Past, Today, and in the Near Future Will Affect Access and Opportunity for California's Students.
April 2008
Campaign for College Opportunity

Denied: Community College Students Lack Access to Affordable Student Loans
April 2008
The Institute for College Access and Success

Pillars of Progress
Spring 2008
Lumina Foundation
Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) often go above and beyond the call of duty to encourage engagement and provide support to traditionally underrepresented students. This issue of Lumina Foundation Focus examines MSIs and their efforts to maximize student success.

Window of Opportunity: Targeting Federal Grant Aid to Students with the Lowest Incomes
February 2008
Institute for Higher Education Policy

It Could Happen: Unleashing the Potential of California’s Community Colleges to Help Students Succeed and California Thrive
February 2008
California State University, Sacramento, Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy

Public Higher Education Performance Accountability Framework Report- Goal- Access and Affordability. Measure: Percent of Unmet Need in Paying the Cost of College
California Postsecondary Education Commission
December 2007

Public Higher Education Performance Accountability Framework Report- Goal- College Readiness
December 2007
California Postsecondary Education Commission

Conference on African American Males in Community College Identifies Solutions

Coastline Community College in partnership with the nonprofit organization African America Male Education Network and Development (A2MEND) held its first African American Male Summit in March. At the summit, 350 participants came together to identify solutions to the barriers that African American men face in community colleges today. African American males in California’s community colleges are the lowest performing group on indicators such as percentage of degrees earned, persistence rates, and average cumulative grade point average. The A2MEND conference provided an opportunity for faculty administrators, classified staff and students to develop realistic strategies and concrete recommendations that can be put into practice at our community colleges today.

Read: Disappearing Acts: The Vanishing Black Male on Community College Campuses

Read conference materials: African American Male Summit Summary

A2MEND: Fostering change to improve the access, retention and success of African American males in higher education

African American Images in the Media