The district stands to face cuts to both staff and classes, according to a Town Hall meeting held by the Moorpark College administration on Feb. 17.
The district must downsize faculty and make a more concise schedule of classes following the latest budget review.
However, administrators say their primary concern is keeping students first.
“We’re going to do the best we can to meet the needs for the greatest number of students and their educational paths,” said Ed Knudson, executive vice president of Moorpark College. “We’re cutting out of necessity.”
During the meeting, Knudson, President Pam Eddinger and Faculty Senate President Jeff Baker laid out the hard realities of the coming years to a packed audience made up of Moorpark faculty and staff. In a review of their three-to-five-year plan, the administration discussed a shrinking budget, threats to enrollment status and compromises in scheduling to prepare students for future challenges.
For each student taking a full time load of 12 units, the district receives $4,500 from the state.
The Ventura County Community College District’s projected general fund for this year, ending June 30, is $138.71 million. It is projected to decrease by 3 percent to $134.76 million for the next fiscal year.
Moorpark College’s general fund this year is $49.5 million. It is projected to decrease by 5 percent to $47.1 million for the next fiscal year, leaving a shortfall of $2.4 million.
Although the state government estimates to be out of the deficit in a year, Iris Ingram, vice president of business services, believes that it will take at least a couple years for the colleges to get back on their feet.
Moorpark is prepared to help its community as best as it can.
In addition to layoffs, 70 class sections will be cut out of each of the fall 2010 and spring 2011 sessions.
Whereas 117 sections were available last summer in the four-week summer session, all of the four-week classes have been cut for the 2010 summer semester, in addition to some six-week sections. All told, there will be only 350 total sections this summer.
Besides these cuts, each class section must be at least 80 percent full at enrollment.
Otherwise, those classes that do not meet the minimum capacity requirement will be cut from the schedule completely.
Moorpark plans to continue with its proposal to cut classes over the summer, continuing into 2011. However, there is a backup plan in place to open more classes should the need arise.
Known as restricted enrollment, a class is given a CRN number and a classroom, but a student won’t see it when registering for classes. When there is a need for more courses, the restricted class will open.
“It’s a planning tool that lets us stay within budget, but lets us respond quickly if we have the need,” said Knudson. “It’s a tool that I have used in enrollment planning for some time.”
Knudson encourages students to enroll as soon as possible in order to ensure that they get the classes they need.
“Don’t put off the classes you don’t enjoy,” said Knudson.
Both Knudson and Eddinger emphasized the need for students to enroll in necessary classes as soon as possible, but also to help the college accommodate its current and future students as well.
“We have to acknowledge the pain and support one another as best we can,” said Eddinger. “This campus has always been very good at that.”