Cuts to student services eliminate jobs

Budget cuts to student services are eliminating jobs and impacting programs essential to students.Jennifer Hughes, vice president of student services, identified more than eight positions that have been eliminated, defunded or left vacant in an e-mail to The San Matean.

One position in counseling and one position in the Assessment Center were eliminated, Hughes wrote.

"Three vacant positions in Admissions and Records and one position in the Scholarship Office were defunded," Hughes wrote. "Two positions in the child development center remain vacant."

Short-term, temporary positions used to help serve students during peak registration have also been discontinued, she continued.

The majority of adjunct counseling has been eliminated, with adjunct counselors now only being used during peak registration periods, Hughes wrote.

"The counseling division is working to develop new models for delivering counseling services to students," she wrote. These include "group orientation and registration sessions; focused workshops for students pursuing degrees, certificates and transfer; and the use of technology to provide students with counseling information."

Seminars and lectures by professors on transferring and recommended classes are an alternative way to provide information to students, Hughes wrote.

If one-on-one counseling becomes limited, it is critical for students to make counseling appointments as early as possible to develop Student Educational Plans, she continued.

Losses in state funding that supports student services range anywhere from 48 to 60 percent, depending on the program, Hughes wrote.

"We did receive a small amount of one-time funding -- approximately $126,000 -- from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but these funds were not sufficient to backfill the deep cuts to these programs," she wrote.

Student services has experienced major losses in categorical programs like matriculation, Extended Opportunity Programs Services, Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education, Disabled Students Programs and Services, and CalWORKS, a program for needy families, Hughes wrote.

"These programs were established many years ago and were designed to help increase the retention, persistence and success of our most at-risk students," she wrote.

"Students with specific needs may not receive the extra help that could push them to graduate and/or transfer," she continued.

In 2008-09, CSM was able to service 540 EOPS students, Hughes wrote. This year, that number will fall to 323 and may continue to plummet over the next few years.

"I would be very upset about such benefits being unavailable to me," said Cara Raguz, a student from Los Altos. "We're in DSPS for a reason; we need the extra time and extra help. This could be very inconvenient and affect my grades and my whole educational experience."

"I am extremely concerned about the cuts to Student Services, as our programs and services provide the support that community college students need to be successful," wrote Hughes. "Without these services, many students may not be able to pursue college opportunities. I am especially concerned about the deep cuts to the categorical programs, as these programs provide services to students who need them the most."

Over the next few years, some student services could be consolidated among the three district colleges. One possibility could be moving admissions to one campus.

Some of these money-saving consolidations could be implemented as early as April 2010, Hughes added.