Orange Coast College students can expect fewer classes

Students preparing to attend Orange Coast College this summer should brace themselves for uncertainties, including the possibility of a 50% reduction in the number of classes offered. It’s the result of a state budget crisis that’s changing the face of higher education in California.

Last week, in his proposed state budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger decided not to target California’s 110 community colleges for cuts.

Yet officials at OCC are taking a “a wait-and-see approach” at what his May budgetary revision might bring, said Rich Pagel, vice president of administrative services for the 19,000-student junior college in Costa Mesa.

One thing is certain, however: Nearly half of OCC’s summer school classes are going to have to go, most likely those classes where attendance is already low — not the core classes needed for transferring to four-year universities.

“We’re telling students to apply early for summer school, that they shouldn’t assume anything, that they need to know deadlines, especially for financial aid,” said OCC spokesman Jeff Hobbs. “They should do the leg work because the state budget is constantly changing and yet that doesn’t mean they can’t achieve their dreams or take advantage of the opportunities that our college has to offer.”

Already, the community college is dealing with $1.8 million in cuts instituted last year, including laying off nearly one dozen part-time employees and freezing 32 full time positions, half of them faculty, Hobbs said.

Additionally, summer school classes and most campus operations for eight straight Fridays will be suspended starting in June, in what is designed as an energy cost-savings during the hotter months in Orange County, according to Pagel.

The thermostats around campus, including inside the swimming pool, have also been altered by a few degrees, for a savings of between $6,000-$10,000 dollars, Pagel said.

The greatest saving, however, was in the hiring freeze, accounting for nearly $1 million, said Dennis Harkins, OCC’s new president. And yet, in all the bad news, there is a nugget of good news: The college is meeting the state’s requirement on the number of students that it must enroll to still receive $4,600 per student from the state, and the core mission of the community college has not changed a bit.

“We’re still here to provide job training and educate students so that they can transfer to a major university after they’ve attended two years here,” Harkins said.

Still, signs have been posted around campus acknowledging that lines will be longer and services slower since there will be fewer workers to help students register for classes and get acquainted with campus red tape.

Although there is a new setup designed to centralize the process at “The Answer Center,” a room specially designed for students last fall, the bottom line is that there are fewer employees and that the college is serving more students with fewer non-teaching employees, Hobbs said

“If there were a theme to all this, it’s definitely that the college is doing more with less,” he said. “But there is a huge demand, and we’ll do everything possible to help every student who walks through the door.”