With all the discussion and debate over the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on businesses and schools, one vital local institution seems to have been overlooked: Cabrillo College.
Make no mistake, however – the impacts of the coronavirus, and the recent wildfires, on the community college and the students from all walks of life it serves have been deep and in many cases, alarming.
In line with the rest of public higher education, most Cabrillo instruction is being offered online this semester, and the hope is that classes will resume on campus for the fall semester 2021 if a vaccine becomes widely available (spring 2022 if not).
But in the interim, enrollment, expected pre-coronavirus to stay around 13,000 students, has dropped about 10%, compared to the same period in 2019. This mirrors a state trend at two-year colleges.
Drop rates among students in the South County, where many come from lower income households, has been even more dramatic.
And this falloff is playing havoc with Cabrillo funding, which remains dependent on enrollment.
The state funding formula, once 100% tied to enrollment, is now 70% based on how many students are taking classes at the college. Another 20% is based on how Cabrillo is enrolling lower-income students and another 10% is calculated on completion of two-year degree programs and transfer rates to four-year colleges.
In a recent Zoom meeting with the Sentinel Editorial Board, Matt Wetstein, Cabrillo’s president, remained critical that community colleges in high-cost-of-living areas like Santa Cruz County continue to be penalized under this formula, because many students here have to work, often full time, or stay with their at-home children, while trying to complete classes and degrees. Cabrillo also has many older students, who are not seeking two-year degrees or to go on in higher education. Wetstein said close to 10% of the student population at Cabrillo is over the age of 50.
Faced with a funding drop off, the college is applying for an emergency allowance used in times of natural disasters that would set funding based on previous enrollment.
Funding is only one hammer where the pandemic has hit Cabrillo.
At at a time when health care professionals are in demand, the college’s popular nursing program has struggled because many local health care providers are finding it difficult to accept nursing students because of COVID-19 concerns and protocols. The program has turned to “tele nursing”(virtual visits with home-bound seniors, for instance) to help students meet degree requirements.
The dental hygiene program was shut down during the first months of the pandemic, but reopened in August with health and safety precautions.
Music and dance classes are still meeting, in alternative on campus sites, with rotations in participation.
Sports remain in limbo; volleyball and basketball athletes still can’t use indoor facilities. The status of the football program, suspended due to problems in providing housing assistance to out-of-area participants, is under review by a committee.
Wetstein continues to be concerned over the COVID-19 impacts on Cabrillo faculty, saying that the past eight months have been “incredibly stressful”as instructors have had to move into online teaching. About 10% of part-time faculty, who teach many of the continuing education classes popular among older county residents, have been cut back.
As noted above, lower-income students are facing major challenges, as many lack consistent internet access to stay in online classes. While students have been persevering through the pandemic, the fear is that more students from disadvantaged backgrounds will drop classes or just not enroll.
Access, funding to higher education, and inequities in financial aid for community college students must be addressed at the state level.
In a recent report in the Public Policy Institute of California, researchers found that although state law has changed helping disadvantaged students succeed in college-level courses, the focus now is on “instructional approaches and the availability of nonacademic supports.”
“This last point,” note the researchers, “is particularly important as the COVID-19 pandemic and economic fallout continue to affect nearly every aspect of students’ lives.”
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November 22, 2020 at 08:01PM
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Editorial | Cabrillo College taking difficult course through pandemic - Santa Cruz Sentinel
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