Ventura College is seeing record enrollments but no more funding for them, VC President Robin Calote said in her State of the College speech Feb. 5 in Guthrie Hall. The second annual Ventura College Foundation “State of the College” address took place during a luncheon for foundation members, VCCCD Board of Trustees, Ventura Mayor Christy Weir, and other guests.
Calote was awarded a Certificate of Recognition by Mayor Weir after her speech that revealed a jump in enrollment throughout the district, the highest jump being at Ventura College which saw 14,800 students for the spring 2009 semester. That’s an increase of 1,800 students for the same period last year.
“Ironically, instead of receiving funding to support our growth, the district – along with virtually every other community college system in the state – is facing a budget shortfall next year of unknown, but potentially significant, proportions,” Calote said.
“As the saying goes, we hope for the best but expect the worst. For the Ventura County Community College District, that ‘worst’ may be as much as a $10 million shortfall which, combined with the unfunded growth described earlier, will put the district approximately $20 million behind the amount we need to support our present enrollments.
“For Ventura College alone, this means that we must plan for a cut of approximately $3 million for next year.”
Calote said the district is dealing with the shortage in funding in several ways, “One critical way we have chosen to address a budget shortfall of such staggering proportions has been to return to basics. We have begun to build our fall 2009 schedule around the concept of core classes. We’ve defined ‘core’ as the fewest number of courses needed for a student to complete an associate degree, to transfer to the CSU or UC system or to finish a vocational certificate.
“Building a schedule around core classes will help to ensure that we continue to serve as many students as possible with fewer dollars. We will not be able to do this indefinitely, but during this time of national fiscal crisis, when more members of our county are turning to community colleges for the training, or retraining, that will help them to keep their heads above water, it’s our duty to continue to hold out for as long as possible the hope and solutions we have to offer.”
Much of the success of the boost in enrollment at VC is attributed to the Ventura College Foundation’s Promise to first year students coming from high schools in Ventura County.
Calote said, “The Promise, which is modeled after the Kalamazoo Promise in Michigan, underwrites the first year of enrollment fees for all recent high school graduates in Ventura County. This program, which was designed to remove the economic barriers to education and to increase the local college-going rate, has had remarkable results
Virginia Stout, a Ventura College Foundation member said, “We are very pleased with the success of the Ventura Promise and wish to thank the students who are continuing their education at Ventura College.”
For more information visit www.venturacollege.edu
