Funding cuts have dropped California community college enrollment to 20-year low

After five years of steep state funding cuts at California’s community colleges, student enrollment has dropped to a 20-year low. A report from the Public Policy Institute of California found that between 2007-08 and 2011-12, the college system sustained $1.5 billion in budget cuts. Academic year course offerings fell 21 percent, and summer offerings fell 60 percent. If enrollment rates had stayed the same as 2008-09 levels, the system would be serving an additional 600,000 students, the report says.