Proposition R: To Address
Urgent and Critical Facility Needs
and Create an
Independent Citizens Oversight Committee
June 17, 2002
Updated July 176, 2002
Updated September 6, 2002
Table of Contents
How Did We Get in this Situation?
Bond Costs and Taxpayer Safeguards
"There are five of us for every microscope in the biology labs and there’s hardly room to move around. "
Biology students
The last time the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District asked local voters to support a bond was 1965. Now, almost 40 years later, the District has placed a $207 million bond measure for the November 2002 ballot based on the following concerns:
Aging classrooms needing repairs and renovations
Demand for technology
Safety and access
Overcrowding and the need for additional classroom space
An inequitable state funding formula for community colleges
Campus facilities are plagued with leaky pipes and roofs, chipped and broken floor tiles, frayed wiring, cracked foundations, moldy carpets, rusty air handlers, inefficient ventilation systems and failing boilers. After almost 40 years of constant use, many campus buildings are worn out and need to be replaced. The WW II Quonset hut is still in use. And, finally, there is simply no room to offer sufficient classes and labs to meet student need.
The crumbling utilities and antiquated classrooms and labs are not able to support the today’s technological demands. placed upon them for preparing students to successfully compete in the 21st century. Current conditions hinder the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District in fulfilling its two most important missions: 1) preparing students for transfer to four-year colleges and universities and 2) preparing students for jobs and career advancement. Students depend on the colleges for these opportunities, but inadequate facilities and lack of space put them at risk.
Proposition R is a major piece of the District’s $360 million Facilities Master Plan and identifies the most critical needs. The master plan elements have been was developed to address a facilities crisis of aging classrooms; deteriorating plumbing, wiring, ventilation and sewer systems; an unprecedented demand for incorporating technology into the curriculum; soaring enrollments; and the growing needs of the East County area.
The Board of Trustees of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District has rigorously evaluated the district's critical needs, including contracting for an independent facilities evaluation. After carefully reviewing the findings and receiving public input, the board adopted master plans for each college's facilities, energy-reduction, and scheduled maintenance and technology needs. This process yielded the the priority projects that are to be included in the proposed bond measure Proposition R.
To ensure taxpayer safeguards and confidence:
Every cent will be spent directly on the renovations, repairs, construction, equipment and infrastructure such as plumbing, wiring, sewers and foundations as specified in the bond Proposition R.
No money will be spent on administrator salaries.
An Independent Citizens Oversight Committee will guarantee that all bond Proposition R funds are spent exactly as promised.
An independent audit of all bond Proposition R expenditures will be conducted annually and the results will be publicized.
Since the opening of Grossmont College’s doors in 1961 and Cuyamaca College in 1977, the district has served more than one 1.3 million students by providing quality programs and services. The colleges are the only public institutions of higher education in the entire East County. They have dramatically increased access to higher education and workforce preparation for local residents.
More than half of all East County college-bound high school graduates enroll at Grossmont or Cuyamaca College; 47 percent of the students who enroll at either college plan to transfer to four-year colleges and universities, and another 15 percent are preparing for careers. Others are upgrading their skills; changing careers; or filling in gaps in their education. Nationally, Grossmont College is ranked in the top seven percent of the nation’s community colleges in the number of degrees awarded.
More than half of all students who graduate from four-year colleges and universities nationwide begin at two-year community colleges. In California, about a third of the University of California graduates and more than 60 percent of the California State University graduates have transferred from a community college. More students transfer to San Diego State University (SDSU) from Grossmont College than from any other California community college.
Numerous partnerships are in place with business and industry, benefiting students, businesses and the local economy. Cuyamaca College serves as a training center for Cisco Systems and Grossmont College has a computer network training partnership with 3Com. As one of the largest employment resources in the region, Grossmont and Cuyamaca provide both entry-level training and skills upgrading to help students get jobs or increase their value as employees. Career advancement and job promotions are no longer a pipe dream. For example, the health technicians trained at Grossmont College are in demand all over the United States because of their skills and dedication. Similarly, automotive and ornamental horticulture technicians trained at Cuyamaca College frequently become employed while they are still in the program, based on skills and competencies already acquired in their training.
The college district has a significant positive impact on the economic vitality and overall quality of life within the East County. As a major employer, the district generates more than $150 million for the local economy through its purchases of products and services, bank deposits and payroll.
"The ventilation is totally erratic. And noisy. And unpredictable. Sometimes we’re freezing and we open the door to let some warmth in. But I know that’s not good either. The whole building is this way."
Health professions student
"The old computers in the classrooms mean that we sit around waiting like five minutes just for a web page to come up. Not in all classrooms, of course, but in too many."
Business student
Picture a 40-year old house with hundreds of daily visitors. Even if the exterior is attractive and the inside has fresh paint, major problems will arise if daily wear and tear isn’t addressed. Within the aesthetically pleasing environments at Grossmont and Cuyamaca stand buildings in need of major repairs. Seismic safety renovations and retrofitting are among the necessary repairs for buildings constructed in the 1960s and 70s.
The majority of buildings and mechanical and electrical systems are run down, in need of repair, and at risk of jeopardizing the personal safety of students, staff, and visitors. If repairs are not made now, conditions will continue to deteriorate and the future costs of these repairs will be even greater. An independent contractor specializing in facilities assessment conducted a comprehensive analysis of all district facilities and prepared a Facilities Maintenance Plan. The analysis included a detailed inspection of all square footage of every building, except for new buildings and a few temporary buildings. It also included life cycle condition analysis; remediation recommendations, and cost estimates.
The Facilities Assessment Report concluded that although the facilities were generally well maintained, many of them are just plain old and in need of major renovation or replacement. The report recommended prioritization criteria and a ten-year budget of approximately $43.2 million to address the problems.
The district's energy-reduction and scheduled maintenance plans identify numerous ventilation and heating equipment problems. Their correction will save the district almost 2.8 million kilowatt hours each year, reducing college operating budgets by over $400,000 annually, and freeing up those funds to be spent on instruction instead. Some of these problems have been regularly addressed over the years with a combination of state funds and local matching funds, but the needs have outstripped the available funds.
Campus safety is a serious concern, not only to both colleges, but also to local police and fire departments. Emergency vehicles with firefighting equipment currently do not have appropriate access to all the campus facilities. New routes for emergency vehicles are needed and will become a reality if local bond funds become available.
Leaky pipes and roofs, chipped and broken floor tiles, frayed wiring, cracked foundations and worn carpeting are safety hazards on our college campuses. Students rushing to classes are at risk of slipping on damp floors, tripping on worn carpeting, or stumbling over broken tiles.
Bond funds will be used to correct these problems, to ensure that Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges are safe places to learn and work for students, employees, and visitors. The district should not be a liability to its community.
Why are the repair and renovation needs so great? Could the district have taken better care of its facilities? During the past years, judicious repairs have been made to extend the useful life of the facilities and the utilities infrastructure, but the repairs have only provided temporary solutions to the grave underlying problems caused by old and deteriorating facilities. The district has been a conscientious steward of its public facilities within extremely limited financial resources. However, the state’s funding formula continues to limit the district’s ability to make needed improvements and much of the existing mechanical equipment is barely functioning. And, as noted earlier, although the district has obtained some state funds for maintenance and regularly budgeted local operating funds for the same purpose, the funds are simply massively inadequate.
Deteriorating conditions create an undesirable learning environment. Rugs have mildewed, air circulation is poor, and temperatures vary widely even within the same building.
The costliest repair needs are often invisible to the naked eye: electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Leaky pipes and out-of-date HVAC systems also get in the way of installing and maintaining the technology needed for state-of-the-art classroom instruction. Some air handlers are so rusted that they circulate more air in the mechanical room than into classrooms. Leaky HVAC systems have created mold on carpets and walls. Numerous transformers and electrical switches on campus have already surpassed their useful life expectancies and are in imminent danger of failing. Such failures cause unexpected and inopportune shut downs of computer operations, lighting, and HVAC systems, not to mention total power outages.
Facilities built in the 1960s and ‘70s when personal microcomputers were just a dream for some and a science fiction fantasy for others, are wretchedly inadequate today. The classrooms were not designed for computer workstations and the electrical power system can barely support current technology. Bond Proposition R proceeds will allow the district to retrofit classrooms and labs for computer technology, and to continue and increase the kinds of partnerships already forged with business and industry, such as those with Cisco Systems and 3Com. Classrooms and labs built in the 1960s were not designed to accommodate computers as teaching tools. The role of technology in educating the workforce for the 21st century cannot be underestimated. Employers now demand that even the most entry-level workers demonstrate basic computer skills.
Technology also is an important tool for reaching a diverse student population. Research tells us that students learn in a variety of different ways, some by listening, others by seeing, and still others by doing. Many learn by a combination of approaches. Technology is critical to teaching research and problem-solving skills and for maximizing the potential of all students, regardless of their learning styles. For the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District to successfully fulfill its primary missions - - preparing students for jobs and preparing students for transfer - the colleges must reconfigure and rewire classrooms and labs to create an interactive learning environment that integrates today’s technology.
As public institutions, Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges must, and should, provide equal access and use of facilities to persons with disabilities. Architectural barriers around both campuses have to be removed and classrooms and labs must be reconfigured to meet these needs. For example, wheelchair access to classrooms, labs and student services such as tutoring and assessment are mandated by law, as are visual and audio-adaptive devices for computers to accommodate the visually -and hearing- impaired.
Other technological improvements will directly enhance learning. For example, updated computer systems enable students to receive assignments, communicate with professors, submit homework, receive grades, and conduct advanced scientific and computer projects.
"In order to get more students in the classroom, the room was expanded and remodeled. But now the part that was added from the hallway makes it an L shaped room and if you’re stuck in the L, you can’t see and you can’t hear. And last spring, a ceiling tile fell down right in front of me."
English student
Grossmont College was built in the early 1960s with plans to accommodate 4,800 students. Today more than 18,000 students are enrolled, and Grossmont College no longer has enough classrooms or laboratories to meet student needs.
Cuyamaca College opened in 1978 with a plan for 3,500 students. It now serves 8,000 and has been identified by the Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the fastest growing community colleges in the country. In just the past five years, Cuyamaca’s enrollment has grown 40% percent. (See Appendix, Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Fact Sheet, for more enrollment information on both colleges.)
Based on Master Plan projections verified by the Research and Analysis Section of the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, more than 35,000 students will be attending Grossmont College and Cuyamaca College in 2015 – 20,000 at Grossmont and 15,000 at Cuyamaca.
The current overcrowding will worsen as enrollment continues to soar. The colleges have renovated and remodeled, but the problem of severe overcrowding grows worse. As employment demands shift, more and more students return to upgrade their skills and knowledge.
Proposition R proceeds will finally allow overcrowding to be addressed. The projects to be funded include renovations and construction to serve more students, more efficiently. Science laboratory expansions at both colleges are examples of the most urgent projects.
During the last five years, both colleges have developed comprehensive Educational Master Plans and accompanying Facilities Master Plans that include enrollment projections to the year 2015. The Educational Master Plans focus on current and future programs and services to meet the needs of district residents. The Facilities Master Plans include construction plans to accommodate the projected enrollment and scheduled maintenance plans that identify and prioritize regular maintenance needs. A recent independent Facilities Assessment identifies repair and renovation needs classroom by classroom and lab by lab.
The total estimated cost of the combined Facilities Master Plans is $360 million. The 2001-2002 District budget allocates $20 million that has been identified as available funding through state capital outlay bonds, state scheduled maintenance funding, asset management revenue, and student fees. Proposition R request $207 million for the most urgent and critical needs, including major repairs and renovations that impact student learning, student safety, and student access on a daily basis.
In 2002, the Board of Trustees completed their review of urgent and critical needs and evaluated the comprehensive plans. The major following facilities-related plans are the basis for establishing priorities for Proposition R bonds and other expenditures.
Facilities - repair, renovation
Scheduled facilities maintenance - including safety
Technology – information technology
Facilities - construction
Energy - conservation and reduction
To develop an energy-conservation and reduction master plan, the district contracted with Viron Energy Services to conduct an energy conservation and efficiency audit. With major help from faculty, staff, students and administrators, energy consumption has significantly decreased this past year. The independent energy audit by Viron identified additional ways to cut almost 2.8 million KWH use per year, which translates to a savings of $400,000—money that can be redirected to instruction and student services.
The Board of Trustees of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District has evaluated the District’s urgent and critical facility needs, including safety, energy reduction and information technology. The Board reviewed independent facilities evaluations and received public input prior to approving, in Spring 2002, the facilities construction, renovation and repair, energy reduction and technology master plans. The college facility projects proposed for Proposition R funding are listed in these plans, all of which are on file, and available for review, in the District’s Public Information Office.
In summary, Proposition R funds will be used to:
Repair and/or renovate leaking roofs, foundations, frayed wiring, corroded plumbing and other electrical and mechanical systems to increase safety, and reduce operating costs
Repair, renovate, and construct new classrooms, laboratories and instructional facilities to improve academic instruction and support services; relieve overcrowding; expand access; and continue to provide top quality education for local students heading for four-year colleges and jobs
The following is the full proposition to be presented to the voters of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District on the November ballot:
"To prepare our local Grossmont College and Cuyamaca College students for jobs and 4-year colleges by:
Repairing leaking roofs, worn wiring/plumbing, aging restrooms
Relieving overcrowding
Renovating aging/deteriorating classrooms, labs
Repairing/acquiring/constructing/equipping college buildings, sites, and science/computer labs
Training medical workers/nurses and safety officers
Shall Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District issue $207,000,000 in bonds at legal rates with Strict Accountability Safeguards including Citizens Oversight Committee, annual independent audits, with no money for administrators’ salaries?"
Projects
The Governing Board of the Grossmont–Cuyamaca Community College District evaluated the District’s urgent and critical facility needs, including class size reduction, safety, energy reduction, and information technology. The Board conducted independent facilities evaluations and received public input in developing the scope of college facility projects to be funded, as listed in the facilities construction, renovation and repair, energy reduction, and technology master plans approved by the Board in 2002. These plans are on file at the District’s Public Information Office, and include, but are not limited to, the following projects:
PROJECTS FOR BOTH GROSSMONT AND CUYAMACA COLLEGES
Repair, Renovate, and/or Replace Obsolete Classrooms, Science Labs, Instructional Facilities and Infrastructure:
Repair, renovate and/or replace deteriorating roofs, plumbing, wiring, aging and run down restrooms, telecommunications systems, foundations, classrooms, science laboratories, lecture halls, and other instructional facilities, wire classrooms for computers and technology, increase safety, increase energy efficiency, and reduce operating costs.
Improve Emergency Access and Evacuation Routes:
To improve student safety, redesign campus road network to eliminate dangerous intersections and unsafe conditions, reduce gridlock, improve pedestrian safety, and increase access for emergency vehicles.
Renovate, Repair, Equip, Construct and/or Expand Student Services Buildings:
Renovate, repair, equip, and construct and/or expand student services buildings to include academic advisement centers, study areas, lecture/meeting/seminar rooms, computer hook-up and study areas, and other student support.
Refinance Existing Lease Obligations related to Classrooms, Laboratories and Equipment:
This refinancing will lower interest rates and save taxpayers money.
Repair, Replace and Renovate Electrical and Mechanical Systems to Reduce Energy Consumption by up to 30 percent:
A comprehensive study by independent engineers has identified energy reduction projects that could reduce energy consumption by up to 30 percent.
COLLEGE-SPECIFIC BUILDINGS
GROSSMONT COLLEGE
Construct a Health Professions instructional building to address the critical shortage of health care professionals, especially in nursing.
Science Classroom and Laboratory Building:
Construct classroom, laboratory and instructional support building to continue to provide top quality education to prepare local students for jobs and four-year colleges.
Instructional Technology Center:
Repair, renovate and equip the Instructional Technology Center with high-speed Internet access, computer technology and improved safety and emergency access.
CUYAMACA COLLEGE
Construct and equip classrooms, labs and computer/technical support areas to prepare students for careers and four-year degrees in communications technology and the communications professions.
Business and Computer Information Systems Instructional Building:
Construct and equip a Business and Computer Systems instructional building to prepare students for careers and four-year degrees in accounting, business, and computer occupations.
Science & Technology Center:
Construct and equip a Science and Technology Center to provide life and physical sciences classrooms, labs, and computer/technical support to prepare students for careers and four-year degrees in science and technology jobs and professions.
The specific allocation of bond money may be affected by the District’s receipt of state and other funds and final costs of each project. The budget for each project may be affected by factors beyond the District’s control. The Governing Board will establish the timing of projects after review by the Citizens Oversight Committee."
How Did We Get in This Situation?
Why is the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District asking for local taxpayer support? Why aren’t state funds being used? Why can’t the district find the money elsewhere?
State Funding Formulas have severely shortchanged the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District.
Unfortunately, the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District has the deplorable distinction of receiving among the fewest state dollars per student in the state, ranking 65 out of 72 community college districts. Although the district has worked hard to keep up with major maintenance needs, the state’s funding formula has made this impossible. State reimbursements to the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District have been abysmally low, despite the colleges’ high performance and increasing enrollments.
California Community Colleges receive an average of $3,641 for each full-time-equivalent student. But the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District receives only $3,456. (At the high end, the West Kern Community College District, near Bakersfield, receives $7,446 per student.) What looks like a mere $185 per student difference from the state average becomes huge - $2.8 million - when it's added up. Yes. Every year - $2.8 million dollars less than a district of comparable size elsewhere. Over a five-year period, that is a shortfall of $14 million. No wonder it has been impossible to stay on top of maintenance, repair and renovation.
|
Dollars per FTES |
Variance from State Average |
|
|
West Kern CCD |
$ 7,466 |
+ $ 4,968,627 |
|
State average |
$ 3,641 |
0 |
|
Grossmont-Cuyamaca CCD |
$ 3,456 |
( $ 2,822,149) |
How did this happen? Before 1978, local community college boards could adjust tax rates as needed to run their campuses. The fiscally conservative Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District prudently maintained low tax rates. The passage of Proposition 13 in 1978 shifted the responsibility for funding community colleges from the local to the state level.
In 1988, California voters approved another new state law - Proposition 98 - that set mandatory state spending levels for schools. Proposition 98 was supposed to assign 11 percent of all education funding to community colleges, but this has not happened. The current year allocation is 10.3 percent, a shortfall representing cumulatively billions of dollars lost to the community college system.
Also in 1988, the state passed AB 1725 initiating "program-based funding," a new and complex formula for allocating state funds. Although the college districts themselves continued to decide how to spend their state allocations, the state’s new funding formula was based on what its designers believed an actual program or operation would cost. Unfortunately, the new formula didn’t work. The complicated factors ended up working against extremely efficient community college districts and inadvertently locked them into low funding. Efforts to change the formula have been unsuccessful.
In the meantime, some specific factors penalize community colleges such as the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District. For example, maintenance money is allocated based on the square footage of building space on campus. Fewer square feet equal fewer funds. This is a significant disadvantage to the Grossmont-Cuyamaca District, which, with the second most students per square feet in the state, is one of the most efficient users of space. In our case, the more classrooms you fill, the fewer dollars you receive for maintenance.
The problems of the inequitable and outdated state funding formula are compounded by an unprecedented backlog of capital outlay requests throughout the state’s higher education system. Since the college district depends on state funding for facility repair and maintenance needs, it cannot address the growing list of deferred maintenance projects, and finds it difficult to address even the most immediate repair and renovation needs.
Facilities are now at a point where a significant investment must be made. Without alternative sources of funding to address deferred maintenance and campus renovation requirements, the college district is faced with buildings that are crumbling from within. These conditions are a safety hazard and a liability to the district. They also hinder the quality of instruction to students who depend on Grossmont College or Cuyamaca College as the most affordable public higher education option in the East County. Students aspiring to transfer to four-year colleges or universities and acquiring the technical skills needed to compete in the 21st century are being shortchanged.
At Cuyamaca College, students have no place to join fellow students in studying or other college-related activities and no place to get out of the rain or hot weather. Access to food on campus is a small room with no indoor seating. Cuyamaca students are desperate for some minimal amenities. At Grossmont College, overcrowded admissions offices, counseling, tutoring, financial aid and related student services will relocate into a Student Center Complex.
The college district has used a number of funding approaches to meet college needs and has made every effort to generate additional income streams. These include the use of lease revenue bonds, leases, certificates of participation, income-generating contracts, foundation fundraising and the pursuit of state general bond funds. The district is also exploring joint-use possibilities. To maintain facilities as much as possible, the district has had to use operating funds that would otherwise have been used to expand class offerings. In other words, every possible funding alternative has been explored prior to even considering a general obligation bond.
The district and the colleges have systematically developed facilities and efficiency plans based on solid, verifiable, third-party research. These plans, adopted by the Governing Board, are the basis for all the projects in this Proposition R.
T
he November 2002 ballot measure will ask voters in the district to authorize the issuance of $207 million in bonds, over 30- years. This will mean a maximum of $25 for every $100,000 of assessed valuation of East County properties. This is the equivalent of $2.08 per month per $100,000. Assessed valuation refers to taxable value, not the market value of your property. The taxable value of your home or business will depend on when you purchased it.Passage of the measure will allow the college district to renovate, repair and construct specific campus facilities and will provide the necessary local matching funds to qualify for the state’s scheduled maintenance and repair program and a new community college building fund.
How can taxpayers be assured that Proposition R funds will be used wisely? Since the founding of the college district 41 years ago, the district has served more than 1.3 million students. The bonds that were passed to build the original campus were paid off in the 1980s.
A dedicated and knowledgeable five-member elected board that cares deeply about the colleges’ connections to the community governs the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District. The trustees are dedicated to efficiently providing quality programs to the community and its students. As local residents, board members acknowledge the colleges’ roles as "good neighbors" in the community and understand that well-maintained schools are community assets that help preserve neighboring property values. The governing board is also dedicated to preserving the trust that the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District electorate has bestowed upon them.
The governing board has included, as part of Proposition R, strict taxpayer safeguards to ensure that the funds generated will be spent appropriately and only on buildings, classrooms, labs, and grounds. By law, Proposition R funds cannot be spent on administrative salaries. Every cent from the bond Proposition R will be spent on repairs, renovations, and construction to promote a safe environment, conducive to teaching and learning.
An Independent Citizens Oversight Committee will be established to work with the governing board to ensure that money is spent as promised and not wasted. The committee will include local business leaders with expertise in construction, procurement, and finance, taxpayer organizations and others representing the broad scope of community interests in the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District.
An independent agency will be hired to perform an annual audit to examine whether the money is being spent as promised.
In summary:
"The writing lab where I work is in a converted hallway. I love working with the students and we know the lab is helpful, but we’re out of space and we have a waiting list of students trying to get in."
Instructional Assistant
"That rusty, leaking chiller plant is losing half of its water because it just can’t be repaired anymore. Fifty percent efficiency is the result. We could save a lot of money if we could replace it."
Maintenance Supervisor
Students depend on the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District as East County’s sole public institution of higher education and the region’s primary employment and training resource.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor and business associations, the fastest growing jobs of the future require some type of advanced training beyond high school, but not necessarily a four-year degree. These jobs also require workers to be proficient with technology. Community colleges around the country are stepping to the plate as key players in the training and retraining of the workforce that is needed to keep America competitive. Additionally, economic development indicators consistently cite the availability of a well-trained workforce as the number one reason that business and industry will consider relocating to any given geographic area.
When Grossmont College was built in the 1960s and Cuyamaca in the '70s, no one could have predicted the advanced level of today’s teaching and learning technologies. The $207 million bond measure will ensure that Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District and East County stay in the game by bringing appropriate technology into the antiquated classrooms and labs of our present-day campuses.
Prior to putting a bond on the ballot, the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District is met with community members and opinion leaders throughout the District to solicit input and perspectives. Comments and questions are always welcome.
Written comments may be sent to:
District Public Information Office
Attn: Dana Quittner
Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District
8800 Grossmont College Drive
El Cajon, CA 92020
For further information, please call 619-644-7573 or e-mail info-gcccd@cox.net or dana.quittner@gcccd.net.
APPENDIX
Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Fact Sheet
|
BACKGROUND: |
Since 1961, the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District has enhanced the quality of East County life by providing a top notch, affordable education. The district includes two colleges, Grossmont and Cuyamaca, with more than 455,000 square feet of facilities situated on 135 acres and 165 acres, respectively. Increasingly, flexible class schedules and learning opportunities are providing a wide range of education options for busy people. |
|
OPERATION: |
The District is now serving 25,000 students per semester. Grossmont first convened classes in 1961 and has 17,000 students every semester. Cuyamaca was built in 1978 and has a growing enrollment now at 8,000 students. The colleges lead the way in developing educational programs, classes and services that meet the needs of the community. |
|
GROWTH: |
Grossmont College enrollment is expected to reach over 20,000 students by 2015. Cuyamaca College, continuing a growth curve that began in 1995, is expected to more than almost double its current enrollment, reaching 15,000 students by 2015. New, expanded and improved facilities are planned to meet the need. |
|
STUDENTS: |
Most district students work full or part-time and many return to college for retraining. Statistics show that 90% of the District's students who transfer to San Diego State University continue into their second semester and achieve slightly higher grade point averages than students who entered the four-year institution as freshmen. Gender: female 58% male #9; 42% Age: under 21 31% 21 or over #9; 69% Enrollment: full-time 31% part-time #9; 69% |
|
MEETING STUDENT NEEDS: |
Courses are available to meet a broad spectrum of interests and needs. Classes offer a solid education whether the student is just starting college, planning to transfer to a university, returning to launch a career or pick up new skills. |
|
CURRICULUM AND DEGREES: |
Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, Advanced/Basic Certificates. Grossmont College offers 80 degree and certificate programs. In 1999, the college awarded associate degrees to 973 students; 219 students received certificates. Cuyamaca College has 78 degree and certificate programs. At the 1999 Cuyamaca commencement, 265 students received associate degrees; 171 certificates. |
|
FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING: |
Short term classes (four, six or eight weeks), Open entry-open exit, Weekend College, Afternoon College, Telecourses, Distance learning, Contract education. It is not surprising that one out of every three East County residents has taken classes at Cuyamaca or Grossmont colleges. The colleges are conveniently located with accessible public transportation available to students. |
|
AVERAGE COSTS: |
$11 per unit with tuition for the average class costing $33. Financial aid is available for qualified students. |
|
MISSION AND COMMUNITY COMMITMENT: |
The district's mission is to provide educational leadership through learning opportunities that anticipate, prepare for, and meet the future challenges of a complex democracy and a global society. The district is a major contributor to the East County economy with over $100 million annually invested in East County through the district's: · purchasing of materials, services and supplies· making a payroll· providing money for investments throughout the community. |
|
LOCATION : |
Grossmont College is in northwest El Cajon, adjacent to the cities of Santee, La Mesa and San Diego. Cuyamaca College is located in Rancho San Diego, just south of the city of El Cajon. Both colleges are just a 20-minute drive east from central San Diego. |
|
SERVICE AREA: |
East San Diego County communities of Alpine, Crest, Dehesa, El Cajon, Jamul, Lakeside, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, Rancho San Diego, Santee, Spring Valley and beyond to the Imperial County border and the Mexican border. |
|
GOVERNING BOARD MEMBERS: |
Rick Alexander, Dr. Timothy Caruthers, Rebecca Clark, Wendell Cutting, Ronald Kraft; Student members: Richard Ferrell, Grossmont College; Rick Collins, Cuyamaca College |
|
CHANCELLOR: |
Omero Suarez, Ph.D. |
|
PRESIDENTS: |
Ted Martinez, Jr., Ph.D., Grossmont College Geraldine Perri, Ph.D., Cuyamaca College |
|
ACCREDITATION: |
Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. |
|
FOR INFORMATION: |
Phone: 619-644-7010 District Office; 619-644-7000 Grossmont College; 619-660-4000 Cuyamaca College Website: www.gcccd.net |
Facts in Brief, 2/2002,;
GCCCD Public Information Office, July 17, 2002