Posted on 07/13/2004 3:10:08 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
IN THE WORLD according to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, there are plenty of spaces at our community colleges to serve thousands of students he wants to divert from the University of California and California State University systems.
Why, Schwarzenegger pointed out in a Sacramento press conference this week, there are 7,000 openings at Santa Monica Community College alone -- the place where our governor enrolled as a poor immigrant from Austria.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Also big implications for Community College budgets and teachers, since the schools are reimbursed by headcount.
IN DEPTH: THE CALIFORNIA BRAIN DRAIN
From the June 4, 2004 print edition
Leaving California: Rejected freshmen head east
Robert Mullins
Arizona State University mailed a recruitment letter to 24,000 California high school juniors this month with a new pitch: Come to Arizona when your home-state schools turn you away.
California's state budget crisis is squeezing enrollment at the California State University and University of California campuses, diverting some students - in theory - to California's community colleges. But for those whose hearts are still set on going to a four-year university, Arizona is inviting them to look across the border.
Arizona State University has redirected recruiting dollars from other states to step up recruitment in California, the state from which more out-of-state ASU students come than any other.
The pitch letter was subtle, simply putting ASU in the same sentence as UCLA, the University of Southern California or Stanford University.
"We plant the seed that 'As a Californian, now you need to expand your thinking,' " said Timothy Desch, dean of undergraduate enrollment admissions at ASU in Tempe.
In seeking to balance California's fiscal 2005 budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed cutting costs at the UC and CSU systems by admitting fewer students and diverting 10 percent of incoming freshmen in the fall to community colleges.
Letters went out in May to 7,600 UC-eligible students and 4,800 CSU-eligible students denying them admission for the fall 2004 school year and inviting them to apply at some of the state's community colleges for their first two years of instruction. The students were guaranteed a place at the UC or CSU school of their choice in two years.
Schools in neighboring states see an opportunity.
"We are very aware of the situation. We try to be receptive," said Kristi Rodriguez, assistant director of undergraduate admissions at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
UNLV is already a draw for Californians. UNLV admitted about 7,000 new freshmen in the fall of 2003, Rodriguez says. Of those, the highest number of out-of-state students were from California, followed by Hawaii and New York.
Because UNLV already draws many students from California, it hasn't enhanced its recruiting efforts that much. After all, Nevada is in a budget crunch, too.
"This (California recruitment opportunity) came at a time when most higher education budgets are being cut, so the amount of resources we have available ... to actively recruit is limited," Rodriguez said.
But the appeal of a neighboring state college may be limited. In most cases, California students have to pay the nonresident tuition, which is much higher than their in-state tuition in California.
In-state tuition for UC averages $6,230 a year, even with the 14 percent tuition increase announced by UC Regents in May. The nonresident tuition at ASU, for example, averages $12,000.
UNLV charges a lower tuition to Californians in counties bordering Nevada, such as San Bernardino County, but Bay Area students pay Nevada's higher nonresident rate.
As colleges realign their recruiting strategy, high school students are being urged to realign their selection strategy, too.
"We are advising our students to apply broadly," said Laurel Brock, college and career center coordinator at Mountain View High School. "We always have advised that but we are really stressing it this year."
UC and CSU have consistently been the top university choices for Mountain View graduates, although California community colleges still draw more than either. Out-of-state and private schools draw relatively few.
While the push by out-of-state recruiters may be subtle, student interest in alternatives to the UC and CSU systems is keen.
A college fair May 6 at Mission College in Santa Clara drew close to 5,000 students, versus the usual 2,000; a May 10 forum at UC-Davis drew a record 8,000.
"The message that California is sending is a horrendous message," said Esther Hugo, president of the Western Association for College Admission Counseling. "You may be UC-eligible but because of the budget, you're not able to go to a University of California school. That is very depressing to so many students and is quite unfair."
Mullins is a reporter for the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, an affiliated publication.
I went to community college in my 20s for two years before I transferred to Cal State. You won't miss the freshman and sophomore divisions in the first two years of four state college and keep the money in your pocket for when you do need it.
Our local Community College is crammed full.
It's a better college than our closest Cal State. (Waiting for the flaming on that one!)
(I'm an alumnus from both of them.)
You don't like Cal State Bakersfield?
I was just wondering, since I have heard about how crowded the colleges would be.
I went to the University of Washington (football), but also took classes at UCLA, LA Valley College and Shoreline Community College....I have a feeling I am missing another one.
My son did that here in Massachusetts,graduating from
U Mass,Amherst.
What is up with that Cal State Bakersfield campus Antelope Valley?
The scoop is that the Governator wants to cut costs while maintaining the same level of output by sending frosh and sophmore students to community colleges (who deliver the same classes at half the cost as CSU or UC). Its no secret that many students are better served at an institution which has teaching as its focus rather than research. I could tell you about how my freshman calculus teacher at UC barely spoke English or how my chemistry class had 450 students, and I believe that would be a typical experience today. The cost per unit has gone up 100% (at cc's) in the last year and enrollment at our local college (SBCC) is up strongly.
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