Student outreach is key to state funding mandate
SMC — Millions of dollars in state funding hang in the balance here as enrollment figures rest on a fulcrum that could make or break the financially troubled community college.
Santa Monica College needs to maintain a 3 percent increase this school year over 2002 enrollment figures in order to get $2.2 million in “regrowth” funding from Sacramento. Fall enrollment figures are viewed as the most important because they serve as the benchmark for the entire school year, noted Teresita Rodriguez, dean of enrollment services.
So far, enrollment is up 3.46 percent over 2002. But as students drop and add classes this fall semester, that figure could dip below the state-mandated 3 percent. However, SMC has the winter and spring semesters to make it up in case the fall numbers come up short.
“We are not going to know the final numbers until the end of the semester,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t think we are going to feel The past year has been tumultuous for SMC administrators, who have made severe budget cutbacks, and as a result have faced criticism from faculty and staff about how they’ve handled the financial setbacks.
SMC has been put on the state’s watch list of colleges with severe fiscal problems. Last year, SMC’s Academic Senate approved a no-confidence motion in Piedad Robertson, the college’s president. It also cut 26 percent of its classes, which translated into a loss of about 6,000 students, or 17 percent of its student body, according to SMC spokesman Bruce Smith. By cutting a handful of academic programs, some critics suggest SMC prevented many students from returning this year.
College officials find themselves in a difficult position because they are trying to rebound from cuts and grow at the same time.
“This was a very stressful year from the perspective of the kind of regrowth we needed,” Rodriguez said.
SMC officials are keeping their fingers crossed in the hopes that their efforts to attract more students are working. Recruiters began an ambitious campaign this past spring to bring back students, most of whom were alienated by deep cuts in the last two years. Through outreach efforts and a beefed-up advertising campaign, SMC has been able to steadily increase student enrollment.
Earlier this year, counselors ventured to area high schools to hold workshops and explain financial aid to prospective students. A welcome center was set up at SMC, which served as a one-stop shop for students. There, they received counseling and financial aid services, and could schedule classes and take assessment tests.
The focus is not just to attract more students, however. Rodriguez said getting students to enroll in more classes is key because it represents full-time equivalents, which is what the state is concerned about.
“It may not be more bodies here, but students carrying more units in a semester,” she said. “We’ve learned something from this, and we have made strides that set precedents in terms of how we deal with our students and our outreach.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 18, 2004. Read the original PDF.