In California, Community College Graduation Rates Disappoint

Attending full-time one semester "just teased me," she said. "I thought, 'If you didn't have to work, Monica, you could do so much so quickly."'

California has a high cost of living, and half of independent students in the system earn $29,000 per year or less. Four in five students work, on average for 32 hours per week, according to education policy expert William Zumeta of the University of Washington. That's about twice as much as students can typically handle before their academic work suffers, other research has found.

California community college students, Zumeta says, "work ridiculous amounts for students who are at such risk of not completing."

If students can attend full-time, they are four times as likely to complete as part-timers. But only 29 percent of California students can attend full-time. That's 12 percentage points below the national community college figure.

"I reached the breaking point," said Brian Mechem, a classmate of Robertson's, who works seven days a week as a restaurant cook while pursuing a degree so he can transfer to a four-year school. "I stepped back for a couple semesters, but I've made the decision that even if it takes me 10 years, I'll stay in school."

Many lack Mechem's persistence. If these really were two-year colleges, maybe more students could beg and borrow and attend full time. But between remedial classes and waiting lists, five to seven years is more the norm. Students who are transfer-ready in three years are considered superstars.

"They may run out of desire, because they've spent time pedaling fast and going nowhere," said Marilyn Harvey, a community college graduate herself, who now advises San Diego City College students on transferring. "Or they say, 'You know what? I just need to go to work now."'

To many, student work demands are an obvious argument for keeping fees low. Enrollment rose when the state cut fees from $15 per credit to $11 during the 1990s. And enrollment fell during the most recent budget crunch when prices rose from $11 to $18. Prices eventually hit $26 before falling back this spring to $20.

"Every time you ratchet up the total cost of education, I don't see how you can do anything but (harm) people on the lower socio-economic scale," said Marshall Drummond, the outgoing chancellor of the state community college system.

But the system's own research shows that it is budget cuts, which reduce course offerings, rather than fee increases, that most affect enrollment.

And Zumeta and Shulock argue California's fees are, in fact, too low. Low prices let people in, but give them little incentive to push hard, and deprive the system of revenue to support a new generation of students with intense educational needs.

Low revenue creates a constant money crunch for counselors, small classes, tutors, child care -- all the things that student fees support, and which help students finish their degree.