Community pride

San Francisco Chronicle 3/21/07

Amid all the bad news about California's educational system has come a ray of hope: A new state report showing that median pay for community-college graduates rises 85 percent -- from $25,600 to $46,571 annually -- during the first three years after graduation. Our community-college system faces many challenges -- underfunding, overcrowding, public perception of it as the stepchild of the state university systems -- but for those who manage to graduate, it's getting the job done.

The 753-page report is an excellent argument for the state to increase its investment in our community-college system, especially because more than 70 percent of students taking college courses in California are doing so at community colleges. The community-college system expects an additional 480,000 students to enroll by 2013, further cementing its position as the largest higher educational system in the nation. Those kinds of numbers ought to be a bracing tonic to both parents and legislators who view the UC and CSU systems as the beginning and end of the discussion about educational opportunity.

Because the system is successful for its graduates, its biggest challenge shouldn't be funding, but increasing graduation rates. Unfortunately, a high percentage of students fail to graduate, jeopardizing both their chances for success and the state's demand for educated workers. It's high time California stopped snubbing its community-college system -- and start doing all it can to improve and promote it.