Legislative Analyst's Office Analysis of the 2002-03 Budget Bill

California Community Colleges (6870)

The California Community Colleges consists of 107 community colleges organized into 72 districts. The proposed capital outlay program for the community colleges totals $340 million, funded from both the 2002-03 Budget Bill and proposed economic stimulus legislation. As Figure 1 shows, that legislation would fund $109 million in projects in 2001-02 and $62 million in 2002-03, all from lease-payment bonds. Proposed budget bill expenditures in 2002-03 consist of $7.6 million from the Higher Education Capital Outlay Bond Fund of 1998 and $161.8 million from a general obligation higher education bond proposed to be submitted to the voters for approval in 2002.

The budget bill proposes funding for 67 projects--three new and 64 continuing. Figure 2 summarizes these by project type.

In addition to the projects shown in Figure 2, the Governor's economic stimulus package proposes to fund 11 continuing projects from lease-payment bonds. Eight of these are for undergraduate instructional improvements and three are libraries.

Capital Outlay Plans Should Be Based on Year-Round Operation

We recommend the Legislature direct the community colleges to evaluate their need to construct new classrooms and teaching laboratories based on operating instructional facilities at full capacity during the summer term. Future district five-year capital outlay plans should be revised to reflect the reduced need to construct new instructional facilities which results from full utilization in the summer.

The Legislature has expressed its intent in supplemental report language (the Supplemental Reports of the 1999-00 and 2001-02 Budget Acts) and legislation (Chapter 383, Statutes of 2000 [AB 2409, Migden]) that California State University and the University of California implement year-round operation as a way to reduce the need to construct new instructional facilities in order to accommodate enrollment growth. Consistent with this intent, we recommend the Legislature direct the community colleges to evaluate their need to construct new instructional facilities on the basis of year-round operation at enrollments that are generally equal throughout the year. This means that enrollment growth should be accommodated by fully utilizing the summer term before constructing new classrooms and teaching laboratories.

The chancellor's office has indicated that most community college districts already offer some classes throughout the year. It is our understanding, however, that the number of courses these districts offer is only a small proportion of those offered during a regular term. If enrollment in the summer is not generally the same as in other terms during the year, instructional facilities are not being fully utilized. If a campus operates on the quarter system, full enrollment during summer quarter can provide instructional capacity for up to one-third more students. Since many community college students are committed to their community year-round because of family or employment, effective implementation of year-round operation at community college campuses should reduce the need to construct new instructional facilities.

Some community college campuses have excess physical capacity and can accommodate current enrollment operating only three quarters or two semesters a year. Their need to construct new classrooms and teaching laboratories, however, should still be evaluated on the basis that enrollment growth will be accommodated first by fully implementing year-round operation. Evaluation of the need for instructional space on the basis of full year-round operation will reduce the need to construct new instructional facilities. Therefore, we recommend that the Legislature direct the community colleges to adjust their future five-year capital outlay plans to reflect the deletion or reduction of instructional facilities that would result from such an evaluation.

Community Colleges Should Report Utilization

We recommend the Legislature adopt supplemental report language directing the community colleges to report on the utilization of their instructional facilities at least biennially.

Utilization is the amount of time instructional stations (such as classroom desks and teaching laboratory benches) are used during the week. Community college classrooms are considered to be available 53 hours per week and teaching laboratories 27.5 hours per week. Community college utilization standards--the amount of time instructional stations are expected to be occupied--are 35 hours per week for classrooms and 23.4 hours per week for teaching laboratories.

Utilization standards are a benchmark that helps in understanding how efficiently districts are managing their facilities, and when there may be a need to construct new instructional facilities. As we discuss in the "Crosscutting Issues" section of this chapter, the community colleges do not report their utilization of instructional facilities. Without this information, the Legislature has no way of knowing if classrooms and teaching laboratories at community college campuses are overcrowded or underused. Utilization information is needed by the Legislature in order to evaluate proposals to construct new instructional facilities.

To provide the Legislature with the information it needs, we recommend the Legislature adopt supplemental report language directing the community colleges to report at least biennially on how they are utilizing classrooms and teaching laboratories. The community colleges should provide information on a campus-by-campus basis for classrooms and teaching laboratories, showing how much of the time instructional stations are being used, and how this compares to CCC's utilization standards. With this information the Legislature will be better able to evaluate the need to construct new instructional facilities.