Fee increases, student protests and pepper spray are familiar to the University of California ““ and now Santa Monica College.
It all comes back to affordability.
The two-tier education program suggested, then rightfully retracted by the Santa Monica College Board of Trustees last week put lower income students at a disadvantage.
The California community colleges serve some of the students in greatest need of affordable education. While the alternate option of paying $180 per unit may seem cheap in comparison to UC tuition, they can make a huge difference to students looking to attend a four-year school, but are unable to pay the full cost of that long-term investment.
The proposal would have offered 50 high-demand classes, like English and psychology, at an increased price of $180 a unit, in addition to the 700 state-offered classes priced at $46 a unit. The college said the plan was an attempt to open up more classes and help students meet requirements to facilitate quicker transfers to the California State University or the UC.
While the current fiscal situation of the state is an unfortunate reality for all of California’s institutions of higher education, there are ways that Santa Monica College can try to mitigate its finances without placing the burden entirely on student fees.
Take the example of Pasadena City College.
To deal with shrinking state support, the community college has offered early retirement packages and set up a graduation fund, which encourages faculty and community members to donate funds necessary to maintain transfer requirements or classes needed for graduation.
So far, the plan seems to be working. The college has only cut 45 classes to Santa Monica College’s 1,142.
Or take the case of UCLA. The university has placed renewed focus on philanthropic efforts to minimize the impact of state disinvestment.
With Santa Monica College’s own tradition of private philanthropic generosity, Dan Mitchell, professor emeritus at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, suggested the school tap into this base of financial support.
Recently, the college made news when a local couple pledged to donate $250,000 in scholarships to benefit students who embarked on the two-tier fee program.
With this in mind, college administrators should consider increasing efforts to court donations to help cushion the state’s financial blow.
The college also boasts high transfer rates to four-year institutions and can ask alumni who might feel a strong connection to the school to give back.
These are issues we face at all of California’s institutes of higher education ““ ultimately, school administrators must keep education affordable.