California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott says system-wide, enrollment will be down by about 21-thousand students this year. That’s about a one percent drop from last year’s nearly three million students.
“This decline is not as a result of a lack of demand, but is a result of a lack of resources.”
Scott says last year’s budget included a 500 million dollar cut for community colleges and they’re adapting by dipping into reserves, cutting courses and turning some students away. He says recreational courses may be on the chopping block. That’s because basic skills, career-technical education and courses for students planning to transfer to a UC or CSU school must take priority. Chancellor Scott says demand is up because there are more graduating seniors, unemployment is high and UC and CSU schools are accepting fewer students.