Community Colleges Show Ups, Downs, Steady Enrollment

Orange County’s eight community colleges are equally divided--half growing or holding steady, half decreasing--in enrollment trends as the fall semester nears.

The four community colleges that are either holding their own or gaining in enrollment this fall are Fullerton, Orange Coast (in Costa Mesa), Irvine Valley (Irvine) and Saddleback (Mission Viejo). The latter three are showing about the same enrollment as last year.

Fullerton College, for reasons officials are at a loss to explain, is showing an apparent 11% enrollment increase this fall.

The other four Orange County community colleges last week showed decreases as enrollment was winding down (classes begin at all eight colleges either this week or next).

Rancho Santiago College in Santa Ana reported an 11% decrease in students enrolling for credit; Golden West College in Huntington Beach reported a 10% decrease; Coastline Community College, headquartered in Fountain Valley, was down 7%, and Cypress College down 1.5%.

The Los Angeles Community College System, biggest in the state, is meanwhile reeling with an enrollment decrease this fall that could be as high as 25%.

“Right now, we’re showing a 12% decrease, but it could be as high as 25%,” said Norm Schneider, director of communications for the Los Angeles Community College District. He pointed out that the Los Angeles district lost 13% in enrollment last year.

“We’re in a downward spiral, and it’s going to continue,” Schneider predicted. Like many of his counterparts in Orange County, Schneider blamed three consecutive years of low state financing to the two-year colleges as a major factor in enrollment decline.

“When there’s less money, then the budget is cut, then the classes are cut, and then there are fewer students,” Schneider said. “It’s a spiral.”

Orange County community college officials similarly blamed state budget cuts under Gov. George Deukmejian as a prime reason for the slump in enrollment. But unlike Los Angeles, Orange County’s community colleges are at least partially recovering. While all eight of the colleges had enrollment decreases last fall, compared to the previous year, this fall’s enrollment is down at only four.

In addition to state budget squeezes, the community colleges in California blame a number of secondary reasons for slumping enrollments. New $50-a-semester tuition is one factor, and Schneider said it was a big reason for fewer students in Los Angeles.

“Tuition wouldn’t be a factor in Orange County, but our statistics show that it has caused a big decrease in minority enrollment, especially blacks, in places like our Southwest College,” Schneider said.

Most Orange County community college officials seem to agree with Schneider’s assessment. They say that while the effects of tuition seem to have hit inner-city community colleges, it has not had much of an impact on the suburban campuses.

However, Hal Bateman, dean of admissions at Rancho Santiago College, contends that tuition has hurt enrollment in the Santa Ana area, which has a large Latino and Asian population. “Tuition is a factor, and so is the drop fee,” he said. The drop fee requires that students who drop a class after the first few weeks of the semester pay a $10 fee. Those who don’t pay the drop fee can’t re-enroll the next semester.

Rancho Santiago until this year was called Santa Ana College. Bateman said the name change may also be among the factors cutting enrollment this fall. “Some people may have been confused,” he said. “Also, we sent out class schedules later this year, and that may have caused (an enrollment) drop.”

Classes start Aug. 26 at Rancho Santiago, which is in a district that includes Santa Ana, Orange and parts of Anaheim and Garden Grove. By opening day of classes, college officials expect a big turnout of non-credit students--primarily in English as a second language--to increase overall enrollment. “We have the third largest non-credit enrollment in the state,” said Donna Hatchett, Rancho Santiago College public information officer. In the fall of 1984, the college had 20,225 for-credit students and 7,758 non-credit students.

A college is reimbursed at a lesser rate by the state for its non-credit students. Nonetheless, Rancho Santiago officials said the college’s large not-for-credit enrollment has kept the institution comfortably in the black, despite drops the past year in students who enroll for credit.

Orange Coast College, the biggest community college in California with 25,000 for-credit students, last August had a 19% drop in enrollment over the previous year. Orange Coast officials said they were thus relieved this August when enrollment did not plunge again. John McGill, dean of admissions and records, said that as of last week, registration was about 1% ahead of the same period a year ago. He projected final enrollment to be about the same as last fall.

About the Same

Coastline Community College similarly projected a final enrollment that would be about the same as last fall’s total of 15,000. John Breihan, dean of admissions, said that as of last week, the college was running 7% lower in the number of students enrolled, compared to a year ago. But he said with in-class enrollments still to come: “I would say that we’ll end up with close to the enrollment we had last fall.”

Golden West College’s enrollment has been consistently running about 10% lower throughout registration, according to Nancy Kidder, acting dean of admissions, records and guidance. “I think the early schedule is one of the reasons,” she said. “Many students are still on vacation and (holding) summer jobs in August.” Golden West had an enrollment of about 16,000 last fall.

Orange Coast, Coastline and Golden West are all in the Coast Community College District. Classes at the three colleges begin Monday.

Cypress College and Fullerton College are in the North Orange County Community College District, and their classes begin Wednesday.

Sandy McLeod, assistant dean of admissions and records at Cypress College, said last week that although enrollment was down about 1.5% compared to the same time a year ago, a late surge of sign-ups indicates the college will end up with no net loss by next Wednesday. The college had 12,869 students last fall, and McLeod said this year’s enrollment will be about the same.

Increase ‘Misleading?’

Fullerton College’s booming 11% increase in enrollment, as of last week, “might be misleading,” said Irma Rodriguez, assistant dean of admissions and records. She said that slightly revised registration procedures may have triggered an early surge of registrants that will not continue. “But we’re optimistic right now,” she said. “We’re crossing our fingers that there’ll be a slight increase (in total enrollment) this year.” Fullerton had about 15,000 students last fall.

Orange County’s traditional college growth area has been in its southern extremes, around Mission Viejo and San Clemente, in the Saddleback Community College District. That district operates Saddleback College in Mission Viejo and Irvine Valley College in Irvine. But officials at both institutions last week reported that registration indicates neither growth nor decline this year. If so, Saddleback will start classes Aug. 26 with about 19,900 students--the same as last fall. Likewise, Irvine Valley is projected also to start classes on Aug. 26 with about 5,200 students--the same enrollment total it had last fall.