Demand for higher education skyrocketing in California

State may run out of room
By Kenneth Todd Ruiz, Staff Writer
An anticipated spike in demand for higher education during the next several years could force California to break its 45-year-old promise to make college available to everyone.
Unless steps are taken to absorb the more than 800,000 new students expected during the next eight years, there may not be room in the already-crowded UC, Cal State and community college systems for all of them, said Abdi Soltani, executive director of The Campaign for College Opportunity, an Oakland-based nonprofit that promotes access to higher education.
"Unless we solve this issue, and the state develops a plan and ensures we provide the space, then those students will not have an opportunity to go to college," Soltani said.
Demand is greatest for the state's many affordable community colleges, said Murray J. Haberman of the California Postsecondary Education Commission.
Projections from CPEC, the state's planning agency for higher education, show the Inland Valley near the top of the list in growth. On average, the state expects a 40 percent increase at the community college level by 2013, but San Bernardino County is well over that at 59 percent.
Schools throughout the state, and locally, are already pushing capacity.
Although Chaffey and Mt. San Antonio colleges are not turning students away, the classes they need most can be difficult to get.
"Pretty much any (general education) classes are going to be full, just because everyone needs them" said Jason Wang, a 19-year-old Mt. SAC student from Claremont.
Wang, who plans to transfer to Cal State Los Angeles, said that two years will not be enough to complete the classes he needs at Mt. SAC.
In three years, the number of high school graduates will increase by 45,000 per year and continue to climb, according to the state Department of Education.

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