Palomar, MiraCosta back college funding initiative

September 30, 2007

By: NOELLE IBRAHIM - Staff Writer

NORTH COUNTY ---- Both Palomar College in San Marcos and Mira Costa College in Oceanside plan to pledge their support for a statewide initiative that would cut tuition from $20 to $15 a unit, establish a minimum level of state funding for community colleges and grant the state community college chancellor more autonomy from the governor, college officials said this week.

The initiative would also make any future fee increases "fair, moderate and predictable," said Scott Lay, president and chief executive officer of the Community College League of California, a nonprofit association made up of the state's 72 community college districts.

"We're certainly supporting it," said Palomar President Bob Deegan, who said student and faculty groups plan to raise about $50,000 to back the initiative campaign. So far, $10,000 has been sent in, he said.

A coalition of community college leaders, students and employees submitted more than 900,000 signatures in January to place the initiative on the statewide ballot Feb. 5.

At MiraCosta, officials said they are generally very supportive of the tangible benefits the initiative means to students, though trustees said they had not yet discussed fundraising.

"The initiative helps underline the importance of community college as a higher education provider in the state of California," said Dick Robertson, vice president of student services at Mira Costa.

The colleges have experienced a boost in enrollment this year after the state Legislature agreed last summer to reduce fees per unit from $26 to $20.

A 136 percent increase in tuition between fall 2003 and fall 2004 helped cause a nearly 20 percent decline in community college enrollment, according to state figures. The hike meant 314,000 fewer students between spring 2003 and spring 2005, with overall enrollment dropping from 1.75 million to 1.44 million.

"When fees more than double, that's when you see students leaving community colleges," said Lay.

Student fees ballooned to $26 per unit in fall 2004 before they were rolled back to $20 a unit this January.

After years of slow and steady increases, enrollment at Palomar dipped about 2 percent after the tuition hikes, from 30,469 in fall 2002 to 29,843 in fall 2004. The recent fee rollback has brought enrollment back up by 5.5 percent this spring.

MiraCosta had also seen steady enrollment increases until the fees went up, which pushed the numbers down 5 percent, to 9,674 in fall 2004. But MiraCosta enrollment increased 2.8 percent over the same time last spring and 4.6 percent this semester over the same time last fall.

"Community colleges across the state have reported a significant rebound in enrollment," said Lay. "That's a direct response to a policy of affordable fees."

Rolling back fees

The ballot initiative would set fees at $15 per unit, increasing access to higher education for everyone, said Nancy Chadwick, a Palomar trustee.

A student taking a full 12-unit load now pays $240 per semester, down from $312 last fall.

"This ensures access to any student who wants to go to college," Chadwick said. "There's no such thing as a student who has too much money. For many students, even a flat tire can put them out of commission for awhile (educationwise)."

Robertson said he believes the initiative would stimulate prospective students who perhaps think that college might be out their reach because of finances.

"For those people who fall through the cracks by not qualifying for fee waivers or federal grants, they would be helped greatly by the reduction," he said.

The initiative also ties future fee hikes to no more than the cost of living, which would amount to an increase of roughly a $1-2 per unit annually, said Lay.

In the past, fee hikes have been "arbitrary and capricious," and subject to the whim of state officials, Chadwick said.

That unpredictability puts an additional burden on students, she said. The initiative would allow students to pretty much know what they'll be paying for their complete community college education going in, she said.

"There won't be any willy-nilly capriciousness on the part of the governor's staff to raise fees," she said. "There needs to be some stability where people can plan."

The rollback would especially benefit working students who are more apt to stick with their education if fee hikes are gradual and controlled, Deegan said.

"It's a little easier on students whose pocketbooks are tight," he said.

While the rollback would be beneficial to students, Herman Lee, director of enrollment services at Palomar, said he is not sure what its effect would be on enrollment, as tuition is not the only factor that plays a part.

"While enrollment fees are dropping, the cost of textbooks is going up," said Lee, adding that offering additional course sections can also bolster enrollment. "Students look at the overall cost of education."

A new funding system

The heart of the statewide initiative is the stability it would create by designating a funding pot for community colleges, said Chadwick.

Community college funding under Proposition 98, which set a minimum level of funding for public education, would no longer be tied to public school districts, so enrollment declines in public schools would not starve community colleges of their entitled funding, said Chadwick.

Instead, the initiative would require minimum levels of state funding that increase as enrollment grows, she said.

Currently, all fees received by any community college go directly to the state and come back to the college in the form of state apportionment, which is based on the number of full-time equivalent students a college has, she said. However, funding has swayed during state budget wrangling, she said.

"We've never had the ability to know how much money the community college system would get," she said, adding that the current funding system is arbitrary and unrelated to enrollment, unlike the University of California and California State University funding systems. "This will put us on solid footing."

The change is necessary because projections indicate that many public school districts will experience enrollment declines during the next few years, while strong growth is projected at community colleges, Chadwick said.

"This initiative will take no money away from the K-12 system," she said. "There's nothing that will change for them."

The Legislature will have to determine where the money under the new funding system would come from, Chadwick said.

"That's part of the legislative process ---- that's their problem," she said.

Community colleges are "terribly" underfunded by the state, she said. While community colleges on average receive $4,500 per full-time equivalent student in state apportionment, K-12 schools receive more than $8,000 per student and universities in the University of California system receive roughly $23,000 per student, she said.

"It really shows you how inequitable that funding mechanism is," said Chadwick. "We're supposed to get our fair share based on enrollment. This is not surplus funding, this is equitable funding."

The new funding system could mean an estimated $6 million in extra funding for Palomar, Deegan said.

However, the boost would not impact Mira Costa to the same extent because they are not part of the Prop. 98 equation, said Jim Austin, the college's vice president of business and administrative services. The property tax revenue is so high in Mira Costa's district that the college does not receive such state aid.

"It's very good for the system, very good for our students and very good for our sister colleges," Austin said.

More independence

The third key element of the initiative would grant the state community college chancellor more autonomy from the governor, including the ability to hire his own senior staff, as UC and CSU systems do, Chadwick said.

"Community colleges have a board of governors, but they have no power," she said, adding the chancellor's office is completely run by the governor. "We want to put a stop to that. You've got to have an independent, free-thinking board."

A separate, distinct funding system and some independence from the governor's office will help community colleges become a confident player in the political system, said Robertson.

"Community colleges, I believe, don't have the clout in Sacramento they would if this prevails," said Robertson.

Early polling indicates that support for the initiative is around 60 percent, Chadwick said. The measure only needs a simple majority to be approved, she said.

"We're hopeful we can get this done," she said.

Contact staff writer Noelle Ibrahim at (760) 740-3517 or nibrahim@nctimes.com.