Question:
To anyone who cares, or even knows about, the 2 year certificate program in microscopy (formerly "Electron Microscopy" before they incoroprated FIB and AFM into the program): Forces are at work in the administration at San Joaquin Delta College to possibly cancel the program. Facing a 7% reduction in funds from Sacramento, they cut 5 (most) of the last semester classes that are required for graduation. It seems that no other certificate program (like nursing, radiology, etc.) faced any cuts.
If anyone lurks here has any positive experience with this program and would like to attempt to do something about this, then please share with me, and I can direct you to the appropriate people. The response and feelings I get from the situation is that people can't seem to grasp simple economic principles, but that is just my opinion...
Answer:
Today's Sacramento Bee newspaper highlighed the overall situation of the CA state budget situation. While not specifically mentioned, it seems that the SJDC curriculum was part of the hits on the CA community colleges. Considering the press release, what has been the placement of SJDC graduates for the past two years and the past one year? Compare this to the stated past ten years. Economically, much has changed (for the worse) in the past two years.
It is K-12 up to the community college level. At least they have _some_ sense not to cut higher education. What they _should_ cut at the community college level is most, if not all, of the superfluous junk, like adult education, seminars and the like. Programs that put people into well-paying jobs within a two-year window are the last that should be hit, if at all. Then again, I don't think they are looking at this from a cost/benefit perspective (that which they might not be capable of; the state politicians don't seem to be able to grasp such simple high school economic logic).
