College Policies

Arizona lawmakers are continuing their fight to allow students and faculty to carry guns on college campuses across the state. One state legislator has plans to introduce a new gun law in the opening session on January 9, ensuring the bill would not get lost in the rest of the business of the state as the year progresses. Despite the veto of a similar bill by Governor Jan Brewer last year, those in support of allowing guns on campuses feel confident that this year’s bill will get the governor’s blessings.

Why Guns on Campus?

The issue of allowing guns on university and community college campuses has been a hot-button topic since the shooting at Virginia Tech University in 2007 left 33 dead, including students, faculty members, and the shooter. According to AZ Central, Arizona lawmakers began introducing gun bills that following year, stating trained gun owners would provide another layer of protection for colleges throughout the state. The recent Arizona shootings in 2011 by former Pima Community College student Jared Loughner, who wounded and killed dozens of people at a shopping mall, including US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, have further fueled the fire of these gun movements.

Currently, Arizona law allows individual schools to make the decision of whether to allow guns on their campuses, although none of the colleges in the state allow weapons on campus at this time.

“A gun-free zone really becomes self-defense-free zones,” Arizona State Senator Ron Gould told My FOX Phoenix.

Many community colleges across the country are struggling with higher enrollment rates and lower budgets, thanks to economic woes and a record-high unemployment rate. In California, budget cuts will soon be forcing community colleges in the state to tighten their belts even further – a move that many education experts warn could hurt the state over the long term. In addition to higher fees, colleges will also have to look at where they can cut back in their courses and services: decisions that students will feel for some time to come.

What the Numbers Look Like

According to the Fresno Bee, Governor Jerry Brown recently announced major budget cuts for the state, in the areas of education, senior services, and child care. Higher education was hit hard in the recent budget slashing, with community colleges losing a total of $102 million over the next calendar year. The budget cuts will take place on January 1, leaving schools scrambling to figure out what needs to stay and what has to go in their current financial planning.

To help cover the budget shortfalls, the California legislature is expected to approve a $10-per-unit fee increase that should cover a percentage of the reductions. This increase will translate to $46 by summer 2012. This increase is up from the current rate of $36 per unit, which was introduced last fall. Before that initial hike, students were paying $26 per unit, reflecting a 57-percent increase in fees overall since the

In the past, when San Mateo County Community College District in California asked the voters for more funding, the answer was yes. However, the district didn’t fare so well in this last round of voting, and now the three colleges within the district will be forced to make some tough decisions regarding the expansion and renovation of their campuses. The bond issue has raised some interesting issues on both sides, as voters came out to either support their community college system or send a strong statement that, like others in a tough economy, San Mateo must figure out how to do more with less.

Measure H Designed for Upgrades

The most recent bond issue to come before San Mateo voters, Measure H, would have provided the community college district with an additional $564 million. The money was slated to be used to continue the district’s decade-long reconstruction project, according to a report in The Almanac. The bond measure went down in defeat to a vote of 52.75 percent who supported the measure and 47.25 percent who opposed it. The measure required a minimum approval vote of 55 percent to pass, according to current state law.

The defeat was the first the community college district has faced in recent years. Over the past decade, two other bond measures have passed, providing the district with necessary funding for upgrades to buildings and technology throughout their campuses. According to Peninsula Press, the first measure passed in 2001 for $207

Smoking bans are not new at community colleges; many schools have prohibited smoking in buildings and other areas of campus for years. However, complete, school-wide smoking bans are still a relatively new – and growing – trend for the 20-something crowd. Many community colleges have implemented such bans, with 120 campuses jumping onto the smoke-free bandwagon this year alone. However, campus-wide smoking bans are not met with enthusiasm by all students, and enforcement has proven to be a significant issue for many of these schools. Take a look at why some community colleges are launching such bans, and how they are handling the negative aspects of their decisions with students.

Smoke-Free = Cleaner, Healthier Campuses

According to a recent report on Christian Post, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that nearly 22 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 24 smoke. Some colleges implementing a smoking ban are hoping to encourage students to kick the habit as a result. To that end, college representatives share information on quitting with students and provide aids like nicotine patches and gum to students during school hours.

Other community colleges have initiated smoking bans to clean up campuses littered with second-hand smoke and cigarette butts. The first college to launch a campus-wide ban, Ozarks Technical College in Springfield, Missouri, had that goal in mind. According to CNN, the president of the college approached Ty Patterson, the former vice president of student affairs

Nevada has traditionally had one of the most liberal enrollment policies for students who want to attend community college. Until recently, students did not even need a high school diploma or equivalent to take classes at one of these institutions. However, booming enrollment and low graduation rates have forced these schools to take a second look at their admission requirements. In addition, Nevada community colleges are seizing the opportunity to restudy how they calculate tuition and fee rates for each academic year.

Diploma Now Required

According to a brief report in the Houston Chronicle, about half of all the college students in Nevada attend one of the state’s community colleges. At the College of Southern Nevada, there are around 44,000 students currently enrolled. However, the president of CSN, Michael Richards, said that of that number, only about nine percent graduate from college each year. Richards asserts that in order to make community college students more successful, they need to be better prepared for the rigors of higher education.

Maria Sheehan, president of Truckee Meadows Community College agrees. She told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the primary goal of the new admission requirements would be to see more students succeed once they were enrolled at a community college.

“It’s not about limiting access,” Sheehan told the Review-Journal. “It is not about being punitive. It is not about denying access to career changers.”

The new requirement was adopted by the higher education system’s Board of