City Government

OP-ED: Why Enroll at CCSF in the Middle of the Crisis?

Published

11 years ago

July 31, 2013

The news that the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges has decided to terminate accreditation for City College of San Francisco in July 2014 may make some people hesitate to enroll in Fall 2013 classes.

They may fear that their classes won’t transfer and they will be left high and dry in the middle of progress toward a degree or certificate.

City College supporters are saying the opposite: the college is still accredited, classes will transfer, and enrolling will actually help keep CCSF alive.

Why is this?

The answer: Enrollment is the basis for bringing in state funding. When enrollment, drops, state funding drops. To keep state funding up and keep CCSF standing when this crisis has cleared, City College supporters urge people to enroll.

Tuition, at $46 per credit, does not cover the real cost of an education at City College. What a student pays per 3-credit course covers about the price of one day’s work for a single City College non-teaching employee.

Some of the rest of the cost of education comes from local property taxes, the special parcel tax, grants and borrowed money from bonds. However, over half of the cost of a City College education comes from state funding.

Enrollment is measured in Full Time Equivalent Students, or FTES, which means 15 credits per semester or 30 credits per year. Every FTES brings in about $5,000 to the college. Every time a student pays $138 for a 3-credit class, the state kicks in $167.

During the last year, total enrollment at CCSF has dropped 15 percent, from about 30,000 FTES to 25,500 FTES. (The overall headcount figures, which include students who may be taking only one or two classes, are 105,000 and 85,000.)

This drop has cost CCSF about $5.5 million for the 2012-2013 school year out of a total budget of $150 million. Since the funding rate for one year is applied to the funds received for the next year, state funding for 2013-2014 will be even less.

When state funding drops, faculty and staff get laid off, class size expands, more classes get cut, and whole programs may disappear. Once classes, and especially whole programs, are gone, they are very difficult to resurrect.

The faculty and staff people go elsewhere and find other jobs. Students leave for other schools and/or give up their education. The years of work that went into the creation of classes and programs can’t be done again.

You do not have to live in San Francisco to attend City College. Many people come from down the peninsula and across the Bay. Non-credit classes, which also capture state funding but at a different rate, are free.

City College will survive in some form. What form it survives in will depend on decisions made during the upcoming months. The public can influence these decisions in many ways. One of the most effective right now is to enroll in classes.

Helena Worthen and Joe Berry can be reached at Worthenberry@yahoo.com.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

7 days ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

1 week ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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City Government

Vallejo Welcomes Interim City Manager Beverli Marshall

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10. Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Published

1 week ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

Beverli Marshall began her first day with the City on April 10. ICMA image.

Special to The Post

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10.

Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Current City Manager Michael Malone, whose official departure is slated for April 18, expressed his well wishes. “I wish the City of Vallejo and Interim City Manager Marshall all the best in moving forward on the progress we’ve made to improve service to residents.” Malone expressed his hope that the staff and Council will work closely with ICM Marshall to “ensure success and prosperity for the City.”

According to the Vallejo Sun, Malone stepped into the role of interim city manager in 2021 and became permanent in 2022. Previously, Malone served as the city’s water director and decided to retire from city service e at the end of his contract which is April 18.

“I hope the excellent work of City staff will continue for years to come in Vallejo,” he said. “However, recent developments have led me to this decision to announce my retirement.”

When Malone was appointed, Vallejo was awash in scandals involving the housing division and the police department. A third of the city’s jobs went unfilled during most of his tenure, making for a rocky road for getting things done, the Vallejo Sun reported.

At last night’s council meeting, McConnell explained the selection process, highlighting the council’s confidence in achieving positive outcomes through a collaborative effort, and said this afternoon, “The Council is confident that by working closely together, positive results will be obtained.”

While the search for a permanent city manager is ongoing, an announcement is expected in the coming months.

On behalf of the City Council, Mayor McConnell extended gratitude to the staff, citizen groups, and recruitment firm.

“The Council wishes to thank the staff, the citizens’ group, and the recruitment firm for their diligent work and careful consideration for the selection of what is possibly the most important decision a Council can make on behalf of the betterment of our City,” McConnell said.

The Vallejo Sun contributed to this report.