On Feb.

21, California Community College Chancellor Jack Scott announced a $149 million dollar budget cut via press release. According to the press release, this $149 million reduction is unexpected and even larger than the mid-year trigger cut that the community college system has already endured, Chancellor Scott said. This will result in colleges further reducing course sections, additional borrowing and staff reductions. These new cuts come after previous cuts have already forced a price per unit fee hike from $26 to $36, and now to $46. According to a Feb. 7 San Matean article, in response to the budget cuts, the CCC system has increased tuition by 77 percent in less than a year to $46 per unit. The fee increase will go into effect summer 2012. One Mt. SAC administrator believes cuts could lead to less classes being offered. I have 500 sections per semester, said Larry Redinger, dean of Mt. SACs Natural Sciences Division. I would expect if there are cuts across the board Id be asked to cut maybe 3 percent of those. Maybe as many as eight sections, 10 sections. Redinger warned that this could affect STEM majors. The STEM majors are going to be seriously hit because we are not going to be cutting as many of the lower classes because they are protected, Redinger said. So we will not be getting rid of basic skills classes, we will be getting rid of major classes. Some Mt. SAC students were already having trouble finding classes before the budget cuts. I get classes because Im an athlete and I get priority registration, said Codi Arends, 20, kinesiology major. My friends, they havent gotten any classes because of the fact that it is to packed, and they dont add anyone on the waitlist. Other students also claimed classes are getting scarce. My sister, shes trying to get three classes, but right now she only has two, said Richard Madrid, a 28-year-old social work major. It has just been hard for her to get through her general ed. Despite this, Transfer Specialist Krystle Bybee expressed her belief that Mt. SAC is handling the cuts well. It does seem, as compared to other schools, that Mt. SAC is doing relatively well. We still have a summer and winter session, Bybee said. Some schools have cut their winter sessions, summer sessions, or both. Community colleges are not the only institutions suffering due to cuts. According to the California Community College Chancellors Web site, Community colleges took $502 million in cuts in 2011, but the UCs and CSUs each took $750 million. The biggest effects of the budget cuts recently have been that many of the Cal States are considered impacted, said Bybee. Some majors have become impacted, which just means we have to raise the bar in one way or another, and that has definitely influenced students ability to transfer to Cal States in a way. The Community College League of California is already pressing the California Legislator to address this latest budget cut. According to a Feb. 22 article on the Community College League of Californias Web site, We call on the Legislature to quickly pass legislation to address this unexpected cut, said Theresa Tena, the Leagues Director of Fiscal Policy. By fulfilling this funding

commitment by June, we can ensure that students will have access to summer school classes in many parts of the state where access is threatened and avoid further layoffs. Estimates by the California Community College Chancellors Office state that during the 2011-2012 school year, 670,000 students will be turned away.