Tuesday, March 3, 1998
Lt. Gov. looks to increase community college funds
EDUCATION Government to improve school system with more
opportunities
By Marisa Wong
Daily Bruin Contributor
In a plan to increase funding for California community colleges,
Lt. Gov. Gray Davis announced last week his intention to continue
lowering fees, provide better teacher compensation, and strengthen
relations between colleges and the private sector.
The Davis plan would hopefully improve the community college
system, which has a high number of part-time faculty and spends
$2,200 less than the national average on each community college
student.
There are currently 1.45 million students, who attend 106
community college campuses. According to Davis, California’s
community colleges receive less government support than any other
college system in the nation.
"The under-funding has cut on the backs of teachers," said
Patrick McCallum, executive director of the Faculty Association of
California Community Colleges. "If we are going to maintain a
quality system where people have a strong education so they can
transfer to a UC, then we are going to need quality funding."
First, Davis intends to lower or freeze student tuition so that
students are not prohibited from attending college because of high
fees.
Last year Davis sponsored the College Affordability Act which
cut per-unit costs at the community colleges from $13 to $12 and
wants to assure students that these fees will not be raised any
time soon.
"No student who meets the academic requirements of this system
should be turned away for financial reasons," Davis said. "Allowing
costs to prevent even some Californians from maximizing their full
potential through a college education will ultimately impose
staggering costs on all of us."
Next, Davis said he plans to increase the number of full-time
instructors and improve benefits for existing part-time
faculty.
Part-time workers do not currently receive any benefits and
Davis aspires to provide these employees with such benefits as
health insurance and paid office hours.
Whereas community college classes are often not available,
cancelled or overcrowded, the Davis plan would hopefully promote a
stable faculty that is able to provide quality education.
"We are not at the level we should be and there is clearly a
need for expansion," said Michael Bustamante, spokesperson for the
Office of the Lieutenant Governor. "The only way to do it is to
provide benefits. The importance of the contribution the faculty
makes has been underscored."
Finally, Davis said he plans to continue establishing relations
between the business sector and community colleges for those
students who are interested in entering the job market after
college.
There are currently five programs in the state where businesses
from the private sector work with students in community colleges
which provide preparation and training for entering the business
force. Davis plans on adding to these.
"Every trade or profession imaginable is now affected by the
technology revolution and every student must be equipped with the
skills needed by employers," Davis said. "We must do more than just
add more computers in the classroom. We must use the opportunities
of the private sector partnerships to guarantee that our students
are training for the real world."
Bustamante said that the general funding resource for Davis’
plan has not yet been identified and that Davis just announced a
blueprint for what he wants to see at the community-college
level.
However, with the passage of the California Affordability Act,
which also lowered fees at the University of California and
California State level and froze graduate program fees, Bustamante
said they have hope for passing more legislation beneficial to
higher education.
"Everywhere you look, people are talking about the need to
invest in our community colleges," Davis said. "From the president
of the United States to the leaders of business industry to workers
displaced by downsizing – everyone agrees that community colleges
have never been more important, or frankly, more neglected."