Our community colleges are failing our community

By Claudia C. Alvarez

Only 8% of students entering Santa Ana College graduate in 2 years and only 22.4 in 3 years.

Unfortunatley for Santa Ana College students, the graduation rates there are second to last in the county.

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, as reported on the Orange County Register (08/02/12), only 8% of students entering Santa Ana College graduate in 2 years and only 22.4 in 3 years. Santiago Canyon College is only doing slightly better with graduation rates at 11.8% and 30.6% respectively.

The numbers are bismal and obviously did not occur over-night.

Emphasis needs to be taken on addressing the road blocks to graduation. Amongst these are:

• * Core classes necessary for graduation are being cut or offered at times not convenient to community college students that work.

• *Classes are overcrowed and students are often wait-listed, delaying the possibility of staying on course.

• *Constant tuition hikes are making college less and less accessible to students, specially ones that are already financially challenged.

• *classes that are being offered are often not recognized at four year institutions

• *classes being offered often do not match the job demands of today, students often reaching conclusions that lead them to drop out.