California CC’s Brace for Cuts

At a time when community college enrollments are up, the budget crisis is causing many schools to scale back. As theses budget cuts on college campuses continue, students will find it more and more difficult to get the classes they need.

Local community college students face a reduced menu of spring semester classes because of budget-driven cuts to academic schedules.

Officials say the belt-tightening trend continues because of a slump in state funding. Some colleges may cut course offerings by up to 40% compared to last spring.

At Fresno City College, officials have chopped more than 200 class sections — or close to 10% — from the spring schedule because of budget stress.

“We’re being cautious about our course offerings because we just don’t know” about the state’s financial outlook, said Tony Cantú, vice president of instruction at City College.

Cantú said officials have trimmed low-enrollment classes and cut back on the number of sessions offered for some classes. But they also worked to maintain enough diversity so that students can stay on track to earn degrees or certificates, transfer to a four-year college or pick up new skills for the job market.

Campuses generally save money by hiring fewer part-time instructors. Cantú said no layoffs of full-time faculty are expected because of the cuts.

The community college system of California, which consists of 110 schools, is facing budget cuts of $680 million dollars this year. Some colleges fear that class offerings are going to be cut by up to 40%, others are only projecting a 3% decrease in classes.

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