Budget Crunch Forces College to Cut 100 Classes

Glendale Community College will offer 100 fewer classes next fall due to a $1.3-million cut in its 1991-92 budget, a college official said Tuesday.

Class reductions were forced on the college because of state education budget cuts and will be made in every department, said Art Rasmuson, executive vice president of instructional services. The cuts will save the college more than $400,000, he said.

With 50 classes being cut in both the fall and spring semesters, Rasmuson said, only a few courses will be eliminated entirely. These include the college’s technical graphics program, which had offered 14 courses, including drafting and graphic design.

College spokeswoman Merry Shelburne said the graphics program was cut because of lackluster enrollment. Rasmuson said the classes may be offered again, but not during the 1991-92 academic year.

In addition, Rasmuson said non-credit courses in the college’s adult education program, such as amnesty education and citizenship classes, will reduce instruction time 10 to 15 hours per semester, allowing the college to maintain the courses while saving money.

Rasmuson said every department will make cuts, but the number of students requesting courses and the size of the department will be taken into consideration.

“We don’t want to completely emasculate programs here,” Rasmuson said. “But we’re under the same kind of budget constraints as other community colleges throughout the state.”

Rasmuson said additional cuts may be necessary if state budget reductions are more severe than anticipated.