IMPACT OF GOV. BROWN'S MAY REVISE ON 2012-13 BUDGET FOR CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES
Gov. Jerry Brown recently revised his projections for the state's budget deficit. This PDF presentation outlines the impacts to the system. (pdf)
2011 Presentation to the Board of Governors Cumulative Impacts of Recent California Community Colleges Budget Cuts
A presentation provided to the Board of Governors on the cumulative impacts of recent California Community Colleges budget cuts. (pdf/ppt)
Key Number
$809 million - the amount of cuts the California Community Colleges have taken since 2008-2009, the year the national recession was said to have ended.
Impact of 2011-12 mid-year budget reductions
- State revenues in mid-December 2011 fell more than $2 billion below projections and the community colleges were cut by $102 million.
- The budget shortfall resulted in an additional $10 per unit fee increase from $36 to $46 in summer 2012.
- Under the current $36 per credit unit fee, full-time students enrolled in 15 units pay approximately $1,080 per academic year. With the $46 per unit fee this summer, that total jumps to $1,380 a year.
Impact of Gov. Brown's 2011-12 budget to the California Community Colleges
- 6.8% budget reduction ($400 million). This cut translates into approximately 200,000 students losing access to classes.
- $10 fee increase, effective fall 2011, raised student fees from $26 per credit unit to $36 (38.5% increase).
- More than $129 million of the system’s funding was deferred, which will increase the cumulative total of delayed state payments to $961 million, or roughly 17% of the system’s annual funding.
- The community college system is currently being funded for 2.5 million students but enrollment demand is so high, in 2011-12 it is estimated as many as 670,000 students seeking a community college education will not be served.
Impact of budget cuts to community college students
- When implementing budget cuts, community college CEOs have been directed by state chancellor Jack Scott to retain courses that lead to job retraining, degrees, certificates, transfer, and that help increase basic English and math skills.
- The mid-year budget shortfall and the subsequent fee hike to $46 meant a 77% increase in student fees within a 1-year period.
Total cuts to three segments of higher education in 2011 (including mid-year budget cuts)
- University of California: $750 million
- California State University: $750 million
- California Community Colleges: $502 million
- Total cuts to all segments: $2 billion
Priorities and efficiencies
- The California Community Colleges is the most cost-effective system of education in California. While the state revenue needed to support one community college full-time student is slightly more than $5,000 per year, that same student costs approximately $7,500 in the K-12 system and $20,000 and $11,000, respectively, at UC and CSU.
- The community colleges have looked at every corner of the system to come up with efficiencies. Tactics implemented include course reductions, debt restructuring, administrative consolidations, energy savings programs, IT efficiencies, increased class sizes, reduced student services programs, furloughs, additional online instruction, increased industry partnerships and transfer coordination with the UC and CSU. The system is exhausting all options to free up additional funds and many college reserves are low.
California has been divesting in higher education in the past 15 years
- Enrollment at the California Community Colleges has grown 44% in the last 15 years, yet per student funding in 2009-10 (adjusted for inflation) was lower than it was in 1995-96.
- The demand for a community college education is continuing to outstrip resources. The California Community Colleges would have naturally grown by at least 5.5% in 2009-10. But instead, decreased funding caused the system to shrink by 4.8%.
- In the 2009-10 academic year, the system sustained $520 million in budget cuts which equated to 8% of its overall budget. It is estimated that approximately 140,000 students were turned away from community college campuses in 2009-10 due to course reductions.
- For fall 2009, course sections were cut by 6.3% and enrollment dropped by 0.2% over fall 2008. While total headcount declined by only 0.2%, the system’s first-time community college student enrollments decreased by 12% indicating that the hardest hit by budget reductions are recent high school graduates and displaced workers because they do not have priority registration.
- For fall 2011, course sections have been reduced by 5%.
Economic benefits of higher education
- If just 2% more of Californians earned associate degrees and 1% more earned a bachelor’s degree, our state’s economy would grow by $20 billion, state and local tax revenue would increase by $1.2 billion a year and 174,000 new jobs would be created.
- The economic return on investment in California's higher education infrastructure is a win-win for the state and its taxpayers. According to a 2012 UC Berkeley report, for every $1 California spends on higher education, it receives $4.50 in return.
- The California Community Colleges is the largest provider of workforce training in the state and nation.
Workforce skills gap
- Undergraduate demand for the three public systems of higher education in California is expected to grow by 387,000 students by 2019. To accommodate the increase it will take $1.5 billion more in revenue.
- If current funding trends persist, the Public Policy Institute of California estimates by 2025 California will face a shortage of 1 million college degree and certificate holders needed to fuel its workforce.
- Approximately 55% of CSU and 30% of UC bachelor’s degree recipients started at the California Community Colleges.
- With baby boomers retiring as the best educated and most skilled workforce in U.S. history, labor experts are concerned that California will lack workers with the critical aptitude needed to replace them.
Fee history
| Fiscal Year |
Fee (per unit) |
| 1984-85 |
$5* |
| 1991-92 |
$6 |
| 1993-94 |
$10 |
| 1994-95 |
$13 |
| 1998-99 |
$12 |
| 1999-00 |
$11 |
| 2003-04 |
$18 |
| 2004-05 |
$26 |
| 2006-07 |
$20 |
| 2009-10 |
$26 |
| 2011-12 |
$36 |
| Summer 2012 |
$46 |
*Prior to 1984, community colleges
charged no fee
|