College’s counseling program loses $360K in state funding
Gov. Gray Davis’ revised state budget will have a disastrous impact on student services at Santa Monica College, officials said.
Davis announced Tuesday he would slash funding for counseling services at all of California’s community colleges by $26.8 million.
Santa Monica College will lose about $360,000 for the counseling and student services it provides.
“I think we really try to be all things to all people, but I think those days are over,” said Brenda Johnson, the college’s dean of counseling services. “Now we will have to target our services to specific groups, knowing that some students will fall through the cracks.”
“... We will have to target our services to specific groups, knowing that some students will fall through the cracks.” — — BRENDA JOHNSON SMC dean of counseling
Student services help ensure that students are placed in the proper classes; provides them an orientation to the college, and gives them an opportunity to meet with counselors to map out their academic paths.
The drastic reduction in funding will cause the counseling service department to shrink the hours it’s open, as well as scale back the number of counseling sessions students are offered.
Johnson said the department will have to reduce its annual appointments with students by 11,000.
“It’s devastating, it’s absolutely devastating for counseling,” she said. “We are going to have to drastically reduce our service to students.
“They need the moral support, the emotional support,” she added. “It’s those types of services that are hard to quantify but it’s those that we will be losing.”
Many SMC students currently have to wait in long lines and schedule appointments with counselors up to a week in advance. And that’s with the counseling center open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., five days a week.
The state legislature sets student fees and tuition at community colleges throughout California. SMC officials said tuition increases are unlikely.
“It could present a serious cash flow problem for many community colleges — paying their staff and continuing to provide the services staff and students are accustomed to,” said Scott Lay, an analyst with the California Association of Community Colleges.
“Students are going to find longer lines and fewer class sections,” he said. “Things are going to be a lot tighter on community college campuses for the next few years.”
Like public school districts, community colleges are funded based on how many students it has.
SMC officials estimate a 1.3 percent decrease in funding per student. The statewide average is about $4,684 a year per student. SMC officials said the college receives far less than the average, but they couldn’t provide exact figures or why it receives less than other schools.
Johnson said counseling at SMC will likely become more broad-based, focusing less on individual counseling sessions with students having a hard time adjusting to college life.
Lay is concerned student services cuts may impact CalWorks, the state’s welfare to work program, which would leave many poor students shut out of services they need.
“We will work with the state and local community college get through this tough fiscal year and make sure many of those programs remain in place,” he said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 15, 2002. Read the original PDF.