Local colleges are experiencing record levels of enrollment, but the additional students are not causing a reduction of the cost of an education. This year alone, the San Diego Community College District placed between 10,000 and 20,000 people on their waiting list. Rich Grosch, president of the district’s board, said the same is expected in 2011 and 2012. The increased enrollment has not led to an increase in classes for students, but fewer. Southwestern College in Chula Vista cut over 400 courses before the fall semester began.

Community colleges are not alone. San Diego State University has received 5,400 more undergraduate applications for the 2010 fall semester compared to last year. Yet, SDSU will have 4,600 fewer spots to offer incoming students than the university did in 2008. The University of California just recently made headlines with a 32 percent increase in tuition, despite enrollment increases there as well.

Cuts in state funding are the main culprit. In Southwestern’s case, the state gave the school funding for 15,000 students this year, but last year the state allocated funds for 16,000 students. UCLA had to cut student enrollment this fall by 6 percent, or 2,300 students, because of a lack of state funding. Combine the state education cuts with the current economic situation and schools are faced with lower funds to accommodate more students.

However, this phenomenon of having more students but less money is pervasive across the nation. In October, 41 percent of 18-to-24-year-olds were enrolled in college, up from 39 percent last year. Tuition and fees have also increase around the nation by four to seven percent. Among 16-to24-year-olds the unemployment rate was 19.1 percent. Many young adults have no other options except to go to college.

A new report by the Pew Research Center does not solely lay the blame on the recession. It finds that the number of well-paid unskilled jobs began to drop in the 1980s, causing a wider salary margin between those who went to college and those who did not. The Pew report also shows that the proportion of high school dropouts has dramatically declined. In Oct. 2008, 9.3 percent of 19-to24-year-olds dropped out of high school, down nearly a full percentage point from 2007. In 1967, 19.8 percent dropped out. Fewer drop outs mean more young adults are eligible for college.

California’s messy college situation has yet to deter students. Many have little choice. California’s unemployment rate reached 12.5 percent in October, numbers that have not been seen since just after World War II. Students in the UC system will soon start paying around three times as much as they did a decade ago. Most concerning—California’s higher education budget has been reduced by $2.8 billion this year. Many have been left wondering if California’s higher education system is sustainable.

                                        

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