2 years ago
ROCKLIN, CA - It's the first week of classes at Sierra College - and there are signs that something is different.
"Parking's really, really crowded," said student Loreina Huffman. "I think it was last year, too, but it definitely got worse."
The same might be said for classes. In many rooms, there is no room.
"Getting on the Internet, signing up for classes, it was full months ago, which has never happened," said student Jason Kracke.
School president Dr. Leo Chavez says there have been cases this year where students, due to overcrowding, have had to sit on classroom floors, or even in the hallways. Sierra College enrollment is up as much as 18 percent since 2006, but right now, the teaching capacity is hamstrung.
"If you look at our core classes, they've been full since June," said Chavez. "We've been unable to add sections primarily because of the uncertainty."
It's the uncertainty of funding - the school doesn't know how much they can plan to spend.
"Whether it will be adequate, totally inadequate, or anywhere in between," said Chavez. "We know it will not be great."
He believes that if the problem exists at Sierra College, it's probably happening at community colleges across this state. They all operate off the same source of state dollars.
With the budget so unsettled, no one really knows how much money is there.
"More than a year ago, we began to have what we call a defensive posture," said Chavez, indicating they saw the problem on the horizon. "We began to hoard our chestnuts, so to speak, and avoid as much discretionary spending as we could."
Until law makers can agree on the new budget, there will be no answers, no new classes added to satisfy more students. In fact, it's possible students will be turned away.
Sierra College says another reason for the crush of new students is the sky-rocketing cost of most four-year colleges. Also, as people get laid-off, they need career training to re-enter the workforce, and community college is often the most attractive solution.
News10/KXTV
