Fall Term Marked by Falling Enrollment

Struggling with a swelling deficit and dwindling enrollment, the Los Angeles Community College District begins its fall semester today with students and administrators alike hoping for a turnaround.

The nine-campus college district, the nation’s largest, is often viewed by students and critics as a system in disarray. Yet several students who registered to attend classes this semester still credit the embattled district with filling a crucial niche: providing affordable education for working parents and low-income students.

Luis Cervantes, 22, said he enrolled at Mission College in Sylmar because he was unable to afford four years of fees at Cal State Northridge.

“I love it here. It’s kind of like a small town because you have these mountains on one side and the school on the other,” he said after registration last week. “If I could advise students, I would tell them it’s better to come here and pay $13 a unit for courses. Then, they can transfer to another school later and get financial aid.”

Other students said they wished the colleges provided better services, but that they had to make the best of difficult circumstances. Several hoped for fewer budget limitations, longer library hours, air-conditioned classrooms and more access to classes.

Jennifer Hernandez, a 22-year-old physiology major at Mission College, complained that access to the new library and learning resources center was limited, making weekend study difficult for working students.

“Because of budget cuts, they can’t hire staff to keep the library and computer labs open,” she said. “I don’t think they realize how much all those cuts affect students.”

Tanya Tyson, a working mother making a career change from business to paramedics, said she was shut out of a respiratory medicine class at Valley College in Van Nuys.

“I’m just going to show up and hope a slot opens up,” she said. “Keep your fingers crossed for me.”

Though the class Tyson sought was full, enrollment figures indicate that at most colleges seats should be easy to find.

District officials said 78,783 students had registered before today, a drop from 82,190 the district counted at the same time last year. Enrollments at all nine campuses have decreased slightly since fall 1997 with the exception of City College in Los Angeles, which has more than 11,300 students registered.

Officials said a firm head count would be unavailable for several weeks, yet some campuses like Pierce College in Woodland Hills and Mission College are already devising strategies to hold on to students.

Though Mission suffered miserably last year as a result of spending cuts to close a $2-million budget gap, President William Norlund said the school is finally in the black and using a $4-million state grant to develop a new academic program to prepare students for careers in the entertainment industry. The program would include classes in animation, film producing and entertainment management, he said. Additionally, Mission College has begun a retention program to identify students at risk of dropping out in an attempt to keep them.

In a similar effort to attract students and the funds that come with them, Pierce College faculty and staff organized a massive telephone campaign and called hundreds of students who had applied to the school, then decided not to register.

“We know there is positive feeling about Pierce,” said Joy McCaslin, dean of student services. “We just want to do more to encourage students to come.”

Several students on campuses last week said they need no such prodding to pursue their educations at a community college.

At Valley College, a 22-year-old aspiring hip hop artist who identified himself as Henna-C Meza, 22, said he had decided it was time to hone his business background with some college courses. At the community college campus, the price was right.

“I became a papa at 18 and now I’m trying make up for that lost time,” he said. “Here, I’ll be able to work full-time and take classes at night.”

Another student, Cesar Moran, 19, said he realizes that the community college district is flawed. He eventually adopted “a survival of the fittest” attitude.

“I had a lot of problems getting in here and it worked out. I think you just have to persist in your studies and not let the other things bring you down,” he said. “You know, a lot of people say this isn’t a good idea, but I’d love to teach.”