0920_September Comstock's Magazine September 2020 | Page 37

drop in enrollment — approximately
1 percent overall. It offered admission
to slightly more students for fall 2020
compared to fall 2019, and did not put
any students on its waitlist. “Given the
COVID issues and what was going on
in the K-12 districts, if students met our
minimum requirements, we admitted
them,” says Ed Mills, vice president
of student affairs. Projected enrollment
for new incoming students for
University of the Pacific has remained
relatively flat too, with 975 expected
this year, compared to a little more
than 1,000 in 2019.
Colleges intending to welcome students
back to campus have added safety
protocols that comply with public
health guidelines, like mandatory use of
face coverings, social distancing, oneway
hallways, more intensive cleaning
and sanitizing, and separate quarantine
space for students who test positive
for COVID-19. College drop-off — the
all-day occasion that has traditionally
been a family affair, with activities and
events — will be a mostly students-only
process with isolated move-in times
with as little contact as possible.
The UC and CSU systems have
indicated that some students will be
allowed to return to campus this fall
and stay in university housing, but
how that is implemented varies from
campus to campus.
King, of Los Rios, says it’s hard to
know all the factors for the increase
in community college enrollment, but
he believes it “partly reflects students
at four-year colleges and universities
who are not sure whether they’ll have
a residential experience in the fall and
recognizing that if it’s going to be an
online experience, the value of community
college courses is very high.”
California’s community colleges
serve about 2 million students in more
than 175 fields, and the system is the largest
in the U.S., according to the Foundation
for California Community Colleges.
In addition to traditional courses, more
than 100,000 people are trained each year
through California community colleges
in industry-specific occupations, such as
firefighters, law enforcement and emergency
medical technicians.
Community colleges have traditionally
played a vital role in the economic
recovery in past downturns, and King
believes this period will be no different.
“Community colleges are very nimble
and are able to develop the programs
that our employers need,” he explains.
“And students are able to get credentials
and degrees quickly at a much lower
cost than what’s available elsewhere.”
Cost was a big factor for Graf and
his family. “We just couldn’t see paying
the kind of prices (UC Riverside) was
charging to take online classes,” he
says. The most recent cost for in-state
undergraduate students at UC Riverside
living in residence halls is estimated to
be $36,677 by the university. UC Davis’
estimated costs for undergraduate
California residents for the 2020-21 academic
year, including room and board,
is $36,575. Graf, a first-time student and
a California resident who enrolled fulltime
at Sierra College, qualified for Two
Years Free, Sierra’s name for the California
College Promise Grant that covers
the cost of tuition for eligible students.
Budgets in limbo
As a result of the pandemic, funding
for higher education was slashed
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