<p>They will give priority to students who take only two years. What do you think? I think it’s a bad idea. People, especially adults, taking classes for enrichment will be out of luck.</p>
<p>In my state, there is no free community college for residents. State universities charge lower tuition for residents because they want to support their own students and hope that by getting an affordable college education, they will be more productive and help foster their home state’s economy. </p>
<p>Given this fact, I feel that priority for community college classes in California should be given to degree-seeking students. If one wants to take classes for personal enrichment as a non-degree seeking student, then they should pay for it out of their pocket, just as one would for any other good. There are a number of activities/opportunities for personal learning that one can pursue in their own community free of charge, outside of college.</p>
<p>I only WISH that I had the opportunity to take CC classes for free. As a 22-year-old who is “starting over” in college, I am finding it more and more difficult to pay for school now that I am ineligible for federal financial aid.</p>
<p>It’s supposed to lock out non-degree seeking students, but I read that doing so will focus more on the degree seeking students and transfers so that they are not locked out of basic ed classes which would perpetuate their stay at a cc. Wouldn’t this be better for the cc as a whole? They get more students to graduate/transfer in a timely manner while saving resources and $ on buidling up those needed classes?</p>
<p>I understand that enrichment classes can be good for a community as it presents an avenue for those to learn english, or complete their mandatory continuing professional education, but times are going to be tough for the cc’s and CA public ed in general.</p>
<p>What other choice do community colleges have if their community is no longer interested in supporting colleges with public funding?</p>
<p>@Heidegger - Yes, enrichment students will be out of luck, but California tax payers can’t continue to subsidize these classes. Even after the fee hikes, most student pay only about 1/10th the real cost of the college courses because the real price is heavily subsidized by the taxpayers. And I read in another article that at one CCC, 12% of the students qualified for fee waivers and pay nothing at all for their classes. The line has to be drawn somewhere. While I like the idea of enrichment courses, the overall cost to taxpayers has become too much of a burden.</p>
<p>Here’s an update:</p>
<p>[California</a> community colleges approve overhaul](<a href=“http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/10/BAH41MN1JJ.DTL&tsp=1]California”>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/10/BAH41MN1JJ.DTL&tsp=1)</p>
<p>“Under the new plan, all students will be expected to set up an education plan to move quickly toward an associate’s degree or vocational certificate. If they linger too long or take too many classes unrelated to their goal, they lose registration priority. Others poor enough to quality for a fee waiver would lose that benefit after 110 credits, well beyond the 60 credits needed to transfer.
These changes, including a shift in key decision-making from the 112 campuses to the state chancellor’s office, won’t be automatic. Legislation is required for several of the proposals.”</p>
<p>As far as I can tell, these proposals do not automatically lock out students who are there for enrichment purposes (ie: fun) or are moving at a snail’s pace toward a degree. What it does is move these lollygaggers to the end of the priority registration list. They register LAST. Makes sense…it allows newcomers and those working on degrees, certificates and transfer to enroll first. </p>
<p>There is also a plan afoot to stop paying for low-income students after 110 credits. This also makes sense, as it only takes about 60 to transfer or even less for some certificates. 110 credits is 2Xs the time/units it takes for students to get done and move on out. </p>
<p>Btw, I have met students (and seen transcripts) where they are working toward 200 credits of completed and uncompleted (Ws, Fs, Is, NC) CCC courses with no realistic plan or ability to go much further and are at CCC because they have no idea what else to do with their lives. CCC is not a halfway house. Lowering these students on the registration list is just smart management.</p>