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October 20, 2011 

California spends billions on community college students who drop out.

Huh?

That was the headline that greeted me in the Los Angeles Times at 4:45 this morning. I immediately brewed another pot of coffee, as it forecasted a pretty long day. I’m guessing a few of you also had a bit of pre-breakfast appetite loss.

The first paragraph didn’t comfort me any further:

California and other states are spending billions of tax dollars on community college students who drop out before completing their studies, according to a report released Thursday.

In 2009-10, California spent about $5.9 billion on community colleges (state general fund and local property taxes), so “billions” is a lot of to spend on drop outs.

However, this is a classic case of good research spun for political purposes and to grab readers, rather than rational policy thought. Upon reading further down in the story, I found this paragraph:

In California, expenditures on such students over the five-year period totaled $480 million, far more than any other state.

Oh, that would have been nice to put in the headline, or in the lede. So, going from “California spends billions” (inferentionally in one year), we’re now down to $480 million over a five-year period. Specifically, the report from the American Institutes of Research, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, found that $130 million in state funds were spent on students who didn’t persist after their first year.

So, from “billions” of a $5.9 billion budget, we’re now down to $130 million, or 2.5%. And, as the authors of the study recognize, not all of these are dropouts who left without some benefit. I don’t want to point fingers at other segments, but UC and CSU have a lot of dropouts as well, and they receive far more funding per student.

As we have talked about over the last couple of years, there is no doubt that we could do a better job helping our students achieve their academic dreams. We need to do a better job ensuring students have the knowledge, guidance and support to persist through to reach their goals—whether transfer, a certificate or degree, or skills needed in a very competitive workforce.

Meanwhile, question the headlines.

Sincerely,

Scott Lay
President and Chief Executive Officer, The League
Orange Coast College ‘94

In the news:

We wanted to share what we’re reading.  The purpose of Today’s News is to disseminate throughout the system media accounts about the California Community Colleges and related issues. 

Community colleges get $20 million for job training

Thoughts on Public Education (education trade periodical)

Published:  Tuesday, September 27, 2011 | (Link to story)

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Inside Higher Ed (education trade periodical)

Published:  Tuesday, September 27, 2011 | (Link to story)

College district gets $5 million to train students for health jobs

In the news:

We wanted to share what we’re reading.  The purpose of Today’s News is to disseminate throughout the system media accounts about the California Community Colleges and related issues. 

Jerry Brown rips Republicans, says Jarvis Group is their jockey

The Sacramento Bee (daily newspaper)

Published:  Thursday, September 15, 2011 | (Link to story)

Calif. Treasurer wants to maintain automatic cuts

The Associated Press (national news agency)

Published:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011 | (Link to story)

East County college district adopts lean budget

The San Diego Union-Tribune (daily newspaper)

Published:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011 | (Link to story)

COC trustees OK budget for 2011-‘12

The Santa Clarita Valley Signal (local daily newspaper)

Published:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011 | (

———— Original Message ————

In the news:

We wanted to share what we’re reading.  The purpose of Today’s News is to disseminate throughout the system media accounts about the California Community Colleges and related issues. 

California tax talks await decision by Gov. Jerry Brown

The Sacramento Bee (daily newspaper)

Published:  Monday, August 29, 2011 | (Link to story)

Steve Scauzillo: Navigating the student transfer maze

The Pasadena Star-News – opinion(local daily newspaper)

Published:  Thursday, August 25, 2011 | (Link to story)

Program aims to ease CSU student transfers – colleges hope to save money, help expedite the process

The Fresno Bee (daily newspaper)

Published:  Friday, August 26, 2011 | (Link to story)

Stress value in state advocacy efforts

Community College Times (community college periodical)

Published:  Wednesday, August 24, 2011 | (Link to story)

College class do-overs limited

The Modesto Bee (local daily newspaper)

Published:  Thursday, August 25, 2011 | (Link to story)

In the news:

We wanted to share what we’re reading.  The purpose of Today’s News is to disseminate throughout the system media accounts about the California Community Colleges and related issues. 

California tax talks await decision by Gov. Jerry Brown

The Sacramento Bee (daily newspaper)

Published:  Monday, August 29, 2011 | (Link to story)

Steve Scauzillo: Navigating the student transfer maze

The Pasadena Star-News – opinion(local daily newspaper)

Published:  Thursday, August 25, 2011 | (Link to story)

Program aims to ease CSU student transfers – colleges hope to save money, help expedite the process

The Fresno Bee (daily newspaper)

Published:  Friday, August 26, 2011 | (Link to story)

Stress value in state advocacy efforts

Community College Times (community college periodical)

Published:  Wednesday, August 24, 2011 | (Link to story)

College class do-overs limited

The Modesto Bee (local daily newspaper)

Published:  Thursday, August 25, 2011 | (Link to story)