There were about 60 Hancock College students among the 5,000 or so people who gathered in Sacramento earlier this week to protest a proposed tuition fee increase.

As demonstrations go, Monday's event at the Capitol was less grand than a similar event last year, when more than 10,000 community college students from around the state marched to convince lawmakers to back away from a fee hike.

Students at Monday's protest captured the attention - if not the allegiance - of Gov. Schwarzenegger and lawmakers. Several lawmakers consoled the students, and a spokesman for the governor assured them he is aware of their plight.

Their plight actually is not as bad as some might think. It is true that the cost of going to college has escalated over the years, but getting a degree - including the two-year associate's sheepskin - is still a bargain by any stretch of the imagination.

Schwarzenegger's budget plan proposes lifting the per-unit fee from the current $18, to $26. Even at the higher rate, community college students in California are getting quite a deal, paying only about half the average fee at the nation's two-year colleges. And at the current rate, California students are paying for only about 5 percent of the actual cost of their education. The rest is paid by various governments.

In fact, if the governor's budget is approved with the tuition fee increase intact, the higher rate would qualify California community college students for federal aid grants for which they are now not eligible.

Still, we sympathize with students facing ever-escalating tuition fees, especially at community colleges, where a higher percentage of students must work to pay for their education. And we encourage community college students and faculty to continue making their voices heard in Sacramento. The state has treated community colleges rather shabbily in recent years, almost as if the schools were the higher-education equivalent of second-class citizens.

California's community colleges are anything but second-class. They provide a valuable pool of trained workers in most communities. They are a stepping stone for young people who may not be ready or cannot afford to attend a four-year college or university right out of high school. And in just about every town and city in which a community college is located, it is the heart of that place.

For now, anxious students and educators must wait to see what the May budget revise brings. But if the final version includes a fee increase, rest assured that a community college education is still a great deal.