Community colleges are often considered as moratoriums for people either trying to transfer or to better themselves. As the SMCCCD mission statement proclaims, the main goal is to “enable students to develop their mind and skills … and realize their individual potential.” In order to provide services and opportunities to reach this goal, one important element is required: MONEY.
          It’s well known that the public educational systems in the United States are not particularly well funded. With the recent budget cut, Skyline College is facing a $2 million deficit. In order to keep intact the more essential curriculum, some “less important” programs have to be cut. It’s a give and take thing.
          To ensure that some of these “less important” programs survive, coordinators all around have to seek ways to keep it afloat. One seemingly popular method is to create a class, therefore forcing the students to enroll and pay for it, which also allows the state to provide funding for the program.
          I personally thing that this idea, although deceiving, is a necessary evil to keep these opportunities around.
          I understand that students that attend community colleges have money savings in mind, and paying extra for something that is a “hobby” is wrong, but isn’t a small, almost trivial amount of money worth paying for something that you enjoy?
We all pay $11 for one unit of class, which translates to one hour of instruction per week. There are approximately 17 weeks of instruction in a semester. A little math translates to 65 cents-per-hour of instruction. So for 65 cents an hour, we get a college education by a certified professor, an education that will allow you to transfer to other universities, an education that will open doors for your to earn more money, an education that will help better ourselves.
          Sixty-five cents an hour allows you to learn a sport. Sixty-five cents an hour allows you access to field and gym equipment to better yourself at a sport. Sixty-five cents an hour will also buy you a class period where you learn the rules of the game and strategies behind the game. The same 65 cents will also provide you transportation to away games in other colleges. Not to mention the new soccer field, the redone gym floor and the new film room, all of which are available to the athletics department.
          Other non-athletic programs such as ASSC, the Skyline View of even some classes in the Honors Transfer Program also require you to enroll in an extra class session. All of these extra classes are designed to provide you with skills and instruction that will allow you to be more effective. Not to mention all of these program provide us with much needed experience for the real life counterparts and are great resume buffers.
          Now I know that there are additional costs associated with this, such as personal equipment and textbooks, but they are all necessary to further the development of a particular skill or enjoyment of a sport. We can’t play baseball without bats and gloves, and we can’t learn something without a textbook to support the teachers, can we?
          At first glance, paying extra might seem unnecessary and outright wrong, but if you weigh out all the facts and benefits that are associated with these extra fees, it is very reasonable after all.