Of the thousands of people at UCLA, a select few are part of a
minority that is often ignored. Though there are groups to help
them deal with their problems, these individuals remain largely
unloved. That�s right, I�m
talking about community-college transfer students.
Now I know that some of my fellow transfers came from other
campuses, like California State Universities and private colleges.
Nevertheless, I am proud to say that I transferred from a school
that looked like someone collected the ugliest buildings at UCLA
and made a college out of them.
After all, �in 2003-2004 more than 12,500
students transferred from California�s community
colleges to the University of California,�
according to the UC Student Academic Service Office.
David Ya�ez, a fourth-year transfer student
from Fresno City College, said community college gave him good
opportunities. However, he adds, �the student
groups didn�t have enough funding. The classes
were overfilled.�
Ya�ez said that while there were many
professors who didn�t care about students, he did
have some awesome teachers. That makes the whole experience
worthwhile and worth funding. While I poke fun at community
colleges, I know that they are helping those who
can�t afford college any other way.
Unfortunately, the number of students enrolling at community
colleges has been declining since 2003, according to a December
2005 report released by the California Community Colleges
Chancellor�s Office. The report states that
�the number of first-time students enrolling in
community colleges continues to be down approximately 140,000 from
2003-2004, and the phenomenon has now occurred for two consecutive
years.�
There�s an obvious reason for the decline: the
decision to raise unit fees from $18 to $26 per unit in 2004,
hurting the tens of thousands of low-income students who are
already struggling to make enough money to pay for housing.
Though community colleges serve more than 2.5 million students
� almost four times the number of CSU students and
UC students combined � our community colleges are
not funded as much. According to the League of California Community
Colleges, �Over the past 30 years, funding per
student in real dollars has increased by only four percent, while
per student revenues for UC and CSU increased 23 percent and 24
percent, respectively.� That is why the
governor�s new budget proposal is a step in the
right direction.
The increase according to the chancellor�s
office is �approximately $606 million, which is an
11.6 percent increase from current-year funding. … The community
college share of Proposition 98 improves substantially from the
10.46 percent approved in last year�s Budget Act
to an estimated 10.79 percent for fiscal year
2006-2007.�
Prop 98, you will remember, is that section of the California
Constitution that sets up the minimum funding level for K-12 and
community colleges. With all this talk of expenses and budget
problems, it is shocking to remember, as my dad recalls, that
community colleges used to be free.
But don�t let declining enrollment or increased
fees get you down, transfers, even though the state continues
wringing students dry after fiscally mismanaging its educational
crisis and California has underfunded community colleges for at
least 30 years.
Hopefully someday, if the California government allots enough
money to community colleges, your children can go to college free
of charge, like in the good ol� days.
E-mail Crandall at jcrandall@media.ucla.edu.Send general
comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.