OCC students in class scramble

Christine Carrillo

Students scour class section after class section for an empty seat

for the spring semester, feeling the painful blow California’s budget

crisis has dealt.

As Orange Coast College took its first budget-cutting steps this

week -- the first of many for the upcoming 2003-2004 academic school

year -- by canceling 404 spring sections to respond to state budget

cuts, officials searched for ways to make the best of what they

consider a bad situation.

“The numbers of students that want to come here is going up, and

the funding is going down,” said Nancy Kidder, administrative dean

for the admission and international center programs. “What we have is

a reduction in our course offerings ... so there are more students

chasing [seats] than there are spaces in classes.”

As a result, the college had to start turning students away even

before the new semester began, an unusual practice for the college,

Kidder said.

Compared to the year before, OCC has seen a 3% drop in enrollment

that Kidder attributes to the college’s lack of availability. With

the 15.4% drop in course offerings, which translates 12,809 seats,

the college has had to turn away about 1,300 students, she added.

While incoming students face the most difficulty registering for

classes, even returning and graduating students have found that the

registration process, which is supposed to give priority to students

who have accrued the most units, is a trying one.

“It’s really difficult to register ... and it’s getting worse,”

said Rebecca Agnew, who plans to transfer to a four-year university

next year. “It’s so hard to try and find classes that you need ...

classes that fit in your schedule.”

For those students who only need a few more units to graduate or

transfer out, finding seats becomes more important.

“All the ones that no one wants to be in are the ones left,” said

Agnew, as she desperately searched the catalog Friday afternoon for

two classes that would meet her final few requirements.

The students’ plight has not gone unnoticed among administrators

or faculty.

“We’re seeing the impact of fewer class sections, and the buzz is

that the belt is going to be even tighter in the fall,” said Dana

Wheaton, who has taught music at OCC since 1991 and has seen an

increase in the number of students attending his classes this

semester. “Personally, I try to give preference to those students who

have reached me first.”

No matter how quickly or pleadingly students approach faculty in

the hopes of adding a class, faculty can only do so much, as it is

the college that places various limits on class sizes.

While college officials now discuss how best to cut costs next

year and spare the students’ curriculum as best they can, they plan

on using this semester as a tester for what they can and can’t do

without.

“It’s frustrating,” said Jim Carnett, director of community

relations for the college. “Faculty really feels bad for their

students. Hopefully, we’re going to learn from this. ... We have a

little more time before next year.”

* CHRISTINE CARRILLO covers education and may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at christine.carrillo@latimes.com.