2-tier fee — no way

In a community college setting, more common than the underachieving and the over-enthusiastic middle aged studying for enrichment, are the underprivileged. It is a practical alternative to those who lack a cushy college fund.

In addition to struggling students, the faculty, the educators, are grossly underpaid. Teachers are routinely underappreciated and are some of the worst victims of financial hardships.

To add insult to injury, Santa Monica College implemented a “Two- Tier” pricing system, a system that makes high-demand classes costlier than less popular ones worth the same amount of units, seemingly in an attempt to make more money.

The system was deemed illegal by the state attorney general’s office, according to a California Community Colleges’ spokeswoman. Santa Monica College has abandoned the practice and a college spokesman declined to comment pending official word from the state attorney general.

The biggest problem with this system is compensation for the professors that teach those classes. If the professors who teach those “high- demand” classes get a higher salary, how is that fair to other full-time professors who teach less popular classes? If they don’t receive compensation and all of the extra money goes into the school, how is that fair to the professor of that class? Do you require those professors to work more to earn that extra money?

Santa Monica College reportedly charged as much as $540 for a simple three-unit class ($46 a unit is the standard price for California Community Colleges). Isn’t the goal of community college to make education more accessible? Charging nearly five times for a class clearly defeats this essential purpose. In order to fulfill this purpose, practices like these must be avoided like the plague.