First copy FREE; additional copies 1$
IClackamas Print
¡4 n
independent,
student - run
naqKamas Community College, Oregon City, OR
Bringing
beauty to
campus
See Page 5
newspaper
Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007
Volume 40, Issue 2
“Everything in the universe hæ rhythm.
Ewrything dances.
—I
.............................................................................
.............................................................................................................. . ............... ....
v
Beginning and Intermediate Ballet students practice their form in class Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2007.
„.....
B
Alexandria Vatlelunga Clackamas Print,
I
^Fall enrollment drops,
B Clackamas steps up to
retain fundins
Megan Koler
The Clackamas Print
The statistics are in:
¡Clackamas’ full-time enroll-
gnent is down by 5 percent,
¡and that means less fending.
Last Wednesday, the
Clackamas
Community
College Board of Education
as presented with an enroll-
ent report including sta-
istics for the 2006-2007
Ischool year and early Fall
perm highlights.
! For the last three years,
Ifull-time enrol lment has been
■diminishing, and according
Ito Dean of Enrollment Diane
I Drebin, the trend continues.
Unfortunately, the money
■ Clackamas receives from the
■ state is based on full-time
■equivalency (FTE) points.
“The FTE is a formula
■ that the state department has
■created,” said Drebin.
One FTE is equal to a
■student who has been at the
■college for the equivalent
■ of 510 hours spread over a
r ■year’s time.
“That’s how we get fend-
■ ed from the state,” she added.
■ “We get tuition, and we get
■ fees, and then we get this
■ funding based on our FTE.”
The overall headcount,
■ which includes fell-time,
■ part-time and non-credit stu-
■ dents, is up by 23 percent.
“The economy has
■improved in our district, and
■that usually means that more
■students have less time for
■school because of work,”
■said Drebin.
One of the goals of the
’■college has been to improve
J ■retention and encourage fac-
l ■ ulty to be directly in contact
■with students.
“We expect that the facul-
1 ty are staying connected with
»Please see ENROLLMENT, Page 2
• ■L.------------------ ---------------------------------------
Educational erosion hits home
Schrader’s outlook on future com
tuition and carry the college on the
munity college funding is low. The
backs of students.”
The legislative budget for 2007 money set aside during economic
went up, raising the amount of money expansion, known as the Rainy Day
that community colleges would receive Fund, has been reduced to nothing.
by almost 18 percent. Students in the This is a bad indication for community
low-income bracket had their financial colleges that lack funding already.
“Funding and enrollment is down,”
aid funding double*
Though the increase helped some said Schrader, “and that’s obviously a
students, part-timers and individuals bad sign.”
Lydia E. Bashaw
Oregon tuition is already much
from a higher income class were left
News Editor
hanging. Most grants are only avail higher than in most states. According
Community college successes are able for full-time students below a to Statemaster.com, an online database
being put into the spotlight once again, certain level of income. Tuition for of over 1,000 state government statis
but this time the outcome will affect this year went up as well, raising the tics, Oregon is ranked 15th nationwide
for tuition costs. We also have a low
overall price of school.
legislative budgeting.
Lussier shared that, even though amount of aid and scholarship help for
In a Board of Education meet
higher education.
ing Wednesday, Oct. 10, Sen. Kurt
This leaves Oregon on the
Schrader laid the future educational
lowest rungs of education in the
budget outlook on the table.
United States.
Schrader’s goals for 2008 are the
Clackamas itself is predicting
same as last year, and he is aware
having to raise tuition $2 a year to
that community colleges need fund
keep the college at a functioning
ing. However, there is hesitation con
level. The price of a higher edu
cerning how to judge the outcomes
cation is going up while the gov
of community college programs.
ernment puts community college
“Everyone should be able to grad
funding on the backburner.
uate from a community college with
“I think we need to increase
out debt,” said Schrader. “Only 13
the [state’s] college budget,” said
to 14 percent of community college
Lussier, “so we can keep tuition
students transfer, and only 24 per
low ... we need to stop this unsus
cent are completing their associate
tainable raising of our tuition.
[degree].”
Why is our college forecasting
Clackamas is growing in numbers,
raising tuition ... every year for
with more people entering as part-
the next three years?”
time students, yet the number of
In comparison to other commu
full-timers is going down. Between
nity colleges, Clackamas has the
full-time losses and the number of
lowest tuition statewide, ranking
individuals entering non-associ-
several dollars below the others.
ate-degree programs, colleges must
However, with tuition increases on
reevaluate how they assess perfor-
the college’s horizon, Clackamas
mance.
students can look forward to less
“We need results,” said Schrader.
government help and higher prices
“We need to fix these programs.
for school.
The statistics most often used to
“Oregon does not get a good
evaluate success have been those
grade,” said Schrader, “both in the
related to degree and transfer pro
post-secondary schooling levels
grams. A large number of Clackamas’ SCHRADER
and on a lower level.”
population is enrolled in certificate
Many questions are left on the
and other training classes, which is
often ignored when it comes to statis last year’s budget went up, there are table for legislature, which begins
its session in February. The biggest
still holes in our funding.
tics.
“I think that what we got last year concern for students is where the
Associated Student Government
President Tim Lussier shared his con- is probably going to be the best we’ve tuition increases will stop and funding
gotten in awhile,” said Lussier. “I increases will begin/
cerns with the funding outlook.
For’ now, college funding and stu
“It’s frustrating to work so hard think our colleges still need to get the
for a good amount of funding,” said full $529 million that we asked for dent-cost ride the legislative teeter-
totter.
Lussier, “[and] then still have to raise from the start.”
Sen. Kurt Schrader asks
community colleges to show
program achievements to
justify legislative budget
spending