California students protest rising tuition
April 12, 2012
A proposed change in pricing at a California community college resulted in a heated protest.
About 30 students from Santa Monica College were recently pepper sprayed while protesting outside of a meeting in which officials were discussing a new tuition plan. The proposal was to offer popular classes such as English, math and science at a higher cost than other classes. This so-called two-tier tuition plan would have helped to offset state funding cuts.
However, students were angered that many of the classes they need in order to transfer to four-year universities would potentially cost them as much as four times the current price. According to the Los Angeles Times, the plan would have priced high-demand classes at $180 per unit. State-funded classes, on the other hand, are being offered at $46 per unit.
"The proposal is counterintuitive because a lot of kids go to community college with the purpose of saving money, and this proposal would prevent them from reducing costs," Santa Monica College student Jacky Karadjian told the Daily Bruin newspaper.
Following the protests, the Board of Trustees voted to postpone the two-tier plan.
The Daily Bruin reports that the California Community Colleges system has faced steep budget cuts in recent years.
"After losing $400 million in state funding at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year, the California Community Colleges system is facing an additional $102 million to $149 million in cuts," reported the newspaper. "The system faces an estimated total of $809 million in losses or about 12 percent of the current budget."
While students often face increased tuition when government funding is reduced, moms who want to pursue a college degree should know that they can help offset the rising cost of tuition through grants for parents and various college scholarships for mothers.
