Six extra bucks to spend

Published in Long Beach City College's Viking newspaper in 2007. Editorial shared with Jeremiah Rivera.

One of the most difficult obstacles to overcome regarding college education may not be the intensity of a class or instruction, but just being able to financially support your desire for higher education.
Recently passed legislation has lightened the load on students all across Community Colleges in California. Tuition fees have dropped from last semester's $26 per unit to $20 per unit.
For people fresh out of high school and not familiar with Community College expenses, the changes may go unacknowledged; however to students returning, the decrease arrives as a financial break.
Although a $6 decrease per unit may seem somewhat futile to some, to others it comes as a sign of progress and state acknowledgment of tuition increases.
The advantages of a Community College education go beyond what some four-year universities have to offer. For example, some of our teachers also occupy positions at state universities and offer us the same curriculum as they would offer university students.
Since we have access to some of the four-year teachers, we receive some university education for a cheaper price.
Also, Community College classes tend to be smaller, allowing for more one-on-one instruction for students who seek it.
Although 56 percent of LBCC's 26,399 students qualified for the Board of Governors fee waiver last semester and were not personally affected by the cost of tuition, the tuition is a fixed fee and someone paid it: that someone being tax payers.
So this semester's $6 decrease is not only helping students paying for their own education, but also helping the tax-paying people of California.
Some may say that a lower tuition causes crowded campuses, but more importantly, a lower tuition allows for more opportunity and paves way for future success. According to the American Association of Community Colleges Web site, Community Colleges are an American invention, beginning with six Illinois students at Joliet Junior College in 1901, and are centers of educational opportunity.
LBCC, founded in 1927, offers 100 associate degrees, 89 career certificates and 92 certificates of completion. The college also allows students to pick from 1,052 courses and 2,734 class sections.
The tuition may have fluctuated over the years, but the quality and abundance of a Community College education has remained constant for more than a century and we want to thank all the teachers for their hard work.