SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is using the state’s budget crisis to seeks an expansion of the role community colleges play in higher education.

The governor’s vision for higher education calls for a 4 percent funding increase that would help the state’s 108 community colleges make up for cuts to California’s four-year university systems.

It also calls for community college students to pay an additional 44 percent in fees.

Backers of Schwarzenegger’s plan say not only would it save the state money, but it would also make the relationship between California’s two- and four-year educational institutions more seamless by bumping community college graduates into the university system.

"Community colleges are a great entry level and a great gateway (to higher education) and the governor is giving them their due," said Sen. Jim Battin, R-La Quinta.

Community colleges nationwide may also get some good funding news tonight during President George W. Bush’s State of the Union speech.

Bush is expected to propose giving more money to community colleges to train workers.

But even those who laud Schwarzenegger’s vision for state-funded higher education worry the governor isn’t setting aside nearly enough money to properly enact the plan.

Mark Drummond, the new chancellor of California Community Colleges, said he doesn’t want to get into a "zero-sum" competition for funds with the other public colleges.

All the colleges have a role to play and "in an ideal world you would fund all aspects of higher education fairly richly.

"One of the reasons I came (to this job) is because I think there is a chance for a fresh start for the (community) colleges," Drummond said.

Schwarzenegger turned heads in the higher education world when he proposed a budget increase for community colleges while cutting back on funds for UC and CSU.

The governor proposed increasing state General Fund support for community colleges from $2.37 billion to $2.64 billion. The total budget for 2004-05, which also includes property taxes, federal and lottery funds, student fees and other revenue, is $6.87 billion.

The proposed budget would cut UC funding by $372 million and CSU funding by $242 million.

Although one community college official said $200 million of Schwarzenegger’s proposed 4 percent increase is actually an accounting shift, the system’s leaders are grateful for the money.

But it’s not all good news. The governor wants to boost fees at all three branches of higher education.

For community colleges fees would go up from $18 a unit this year to $26 per unit. Under the proposal fees for a full-time student taking 12 units would increase from $216 to $312 per semester. "I can see where it would make things difficult for a lot of students," said College of the Desert student Tamara Farrington.

Farrington said she gets financial aid so she’s uncertain how the fee increase would affect her.

"I’ve been able to get a lot of help through financial aid," she said.

Schwarzenegger also proposes a $50 per unit fee for students who already have a four-year degree.

But community colleges will remain far cheaper for both the state and student than the universities, so the governor’s plan encourages students to begin their college careers in community colleges.

First the governor’s plan calls for reducing enrollment at UC and CSU by 10 percent each from this year’s levels, which totals about 7,400 students for the two schools.

Then for those students who are eligible for the four-year schools but turned away because of the cuts, the governor’s plan would waive their fees if they would attend community college.

If they agree, they would be assured of admission to UC or CSU when they complete their two-year college work, assuming they meet admission standards.

The governor’s budget includes $1.6 million for UC counselors to work with these students.

"It’s just an incentive for them to take that path," said Robert Turnage, the state community college system’s vice chancellor for finances and facilities.

But he and others said there are unanswered questions about this proposal. They include the number of students who might participate; the fairness of waiving fees for a new high school graduate, for example, while a single mother is paying them, and how it would affect the longstanding program for students transferring from community colleges to the public universities.

The governor’s proposal is a dual-admission plan, somewhat similar to a new program at the University of California, that appears to have attracted modest interest in the first year.

"I think we don’t know how that is all going to work out," said Tom Wixon, a spokesman for the College of the Desert in Palm Desert.

The four-year colleges wonder, too.

"Any time you are turning away students, it is a concern," said UC spokesman Hanan Eisenman. "At the same time, we want to do our best to make it work for the students."