More classes could be back at college

Andrew Edwards

The new interim president at Golden West College says she expects

students to have more classes to choose from at the opening of the

fall semester.

“This coming fall, we anticipate offering at least 75 to 100 more

class sections than we had last year,” Interim President Sharon

Donoff said.

“I’m not anticipating any cuts in the fall, not unless we get a

real dramatic surprise from the state budget,” she added.

Last fall, about 200 class sections were cut out of the school’s

schedule, but Wes Bryan, vice president of instruction, said the

college should be able to restore those classes and add as many as 25

more sections as enrollment gets underway. If those classes can be

added, they will be for high-demand courses, he said.

The difficulty administrators face when scheduling classes at

Golden West is that leaders of California community colleges are

dependent on the state budget process to know how much money they

will have and what fees students will be charged. The deadline for a

budget was June 30, but lawmakers have yet to reach an agreement.

“It’s real hard to make these decisions when you don’t have a

budget,” Bryan said.

Fees for next year are likely to go up, but administrators don’t

know by how much. Vice President of Student Services Monte Perez said

competing proposals in Sacramento could hike fees to $22 or $26 per

unit. However, he expects there will be enough financial aid at the

school to go around.

“If they have need, we’ll meet it,” Perez said.

Donoff said she looks at her term in office as a bridge between

Kenneth Yglesias’ presidency and that of the school’s next leader.

Yglesias left the college to serve as the Coast Community College

District’s chancellor.

Having an interim leader gives administrators time to take a

breather and think about what direction they hope the next president

will take, Bryan said.

“You’re not moving immediately from one president to another, but

the institution has a chance to reflect for a little bit,” he said.

Donoff said she expects to spend a great deal of her time focusing

on the school’s budget and helping campus leaders work on plans that

will guide the school long after her term is over. School officials

are working on a master plan for its buildings and are continually

evaluating a plan for its programs that is assessed every two years.

“Planning is one of my strengths,” she said.

When completed, the facilities plan will be a long-range guide for

the campus to spend its bond revenues, Vice President of

Administrative Services Janet Houlihan said. She hopes it will be

ready by the end of the month.

The program plan includes seven broad goals relating to the

school’s classes and administration that were approved last year,

Bryan said. Goals include making sure more students are ready to

transfer to a four-year school and enhancing budget accountability.