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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

State Can’t Let Down Valley College Students

Graduation season is upon us. Thousands of Valley-area students are wrapping up their course work and preparing to receive that all-important piece of paper that essentially says, ‘Yes! I did it!’ But for many of those students the reaction may very well be tempered with, ‘Finally! That took a few years longer than I planned,’ or ‘I’m not really done with school, because the tuition bills will be in the mail for years to come.’ No doubt others will be asking themselves, ‘Will I ever get a job in this economy?’ You have to be tenacious to graduate in this state. The San Fernando Valley’s largest public colleges and universities are facing some of the toughest challenges in years. Steep budget cutbacks are forcing layoffs, the elimination of hundreds of classes, a cap on enrollment and significant tuition hikes. That’s delaying the time it takes to get most of these students on their chosen career path in the workforce — assuming, of course, they find a job. An educated workforce is the foundation of a stable and growing economy; here in the Valley, where the manufacturing and tech-based jobs are among the most significant contributors, it’s especially important that colleges and universities graduate the math, science and engineering students who are the future. And while in this recession everyone has had to find ways to cut waste — and it’s been important for educational institutions to do the same — the looming cuts would be devastating. Imagine being among the thousands of students who were scheduled to graduate in the next few weeks, but who got locked out of a class that they needed to be able to walk down the aisle. The injustice! Students are protesting to no avail, and unfortunately, without much success. Thousands more students at community colleges such as Pierce College and Los Angeles Valley College have been locked out of classes that they need to transfer to four-year colleges, delaying their graduation. Area university officials say students looking for ways to beat the system are driving from one Valley community college to another to fulfill their requirements — adding to their fuel expenses at a time when their education expenses have reached an all-time high and gas prices are rising. The future doesn’t hold much promise for transfer students that the situation will improve. The California State University, Northridge campus has about 29,670 enrolled students for the 2011-2012 year. And CSU, part of the nation’s largest university system, plans to cut enrollment for 2013-2014 by closing most of its campuses for spring admissions. That means community college students who are ready to transfer in the spring will have to wait, further delaying their graduation day. There is no easy solution to the state budget crisis. But there are efforts underway to improve the graduation rate at local schools such as offering more individual assistance, eliminating general education requirements and making it tougher to switch majors. It’s important to support these efforts. That means keeping college libraries open on weekends and offering tutoring to help students who get a seat in the class to be successful. Of course, it goes without saying that educational institutions must be offering enough courses. Forcing students to participate in a class lottery — where the lucky guy or gal gets a seat in math class — will only put us further behind in the future.

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