By the Way . . .California State University Opts to Use Community Colleges to Combat "Tidal Wave II"

November 9, 2000

By the Way . . .

California State University Opts to Use Community Colleges to Combat "Tidal Wave II." Digging in for a deluge of students expected in the next decade, California State University (CSU) trustees are considering expanding year-round operations and satellite schools to ease enrollment pressures at the 23-campus system. The Sacramento Bee reported that Warren H. Fox of the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC), told the CSU trustees that the tidal wave is here. It has been reported that the three segments of public higher education in California are anticipating combined growth of more than 500,000 students over the next decade.

With the children of baby boomers reaching college age and a growing number of high school graduates seeking a college education, CPEC estimates the CSU system will have to accommodate 130,000 more students by 2010. It is estimated that the California Community Colleges student growth over the next 10 years could exceed 300,000. To keep up with the demand, theoretically CSU-the nation's largest public university system-would have to add a campus the size of CSU Chico every year.

One of the opinions cited in CPEC's report to the CSU trustees would have a direct impact on community colleges: CPEC suggested that CSU develop satellite campuses at community colleges. The proposal would allow CSU to share facilities with the community colleges, giving some students the option of earning a four-year degree without having to leave the community college. This is an intriguing proposal that raises numerous questions for the community colleges, not the least of which is how the community college system will address its facilities needs over the next decade in order to accommodate more than 300,000 new students.