Rethinking Higher Education in California

Your editorial, “Rethinking Higher Education,” (June 22) suggests there is a growing “morale” problem among faculty and students involved in the two-year community college system. The fact that state and private universities are moving to satellite campuses near competing junior colleges demonstrates both the demand and the failure of our local community colleges to meet this demand.

Unfortunately most of the students who choose to attend a community college immediately after high school are woefully unprepared to begin full-time academic studies. And so a great deal of time and effort must be devoted to remedial courses. Then, of course, there is a certain portion of the curriculum provided for the “community,” courses for personal growth and development.

The transfer program, finally, is for students who are academically qualified to attend the State University or UC systems, but who lack funds, or are perhaps unsure of themselves.

Can one college do all these things? The University of California does!--the difference being about $1,500 a year per student, in tuition alone. Community colleges collect only a minimal tuition, however. But is $100 million enough to prevent discouraged high school graduates from giving up on higher education, and is that sum adequate to meet the needs of the community, while preparing a few students to achieve even greater accomplishments?

Being both a graduate of a community college, and a graduate of the University of California (a system which employs quite a number of part-time faculty, is always short of classroom space, and shares the same concern for “community” interests), I believe it will take a lot more to do all this while holding English language classes for immigrants, and also providing space for Regional Occupation Program courses which teach job skills for high school dropouts, just to mention a few of the services these colleges offer. When we allocate money we should remember that the model of excellence, the UC system, does many of the things the community college does, and that performing these services is an asset to the educational system, not a liability.

DAVID REUTTER

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