SAN DIEGO
For most of history, higher education has been reserved for
a tiny elite.
For a glimpse of a future where college is open to all,
visit California – the place that now comes closest to that ideal.
California’s community college system is the country’s
largest, with 109 campuses, 4,600 buildings and a staggering 2.5 million
students. It’s also cheap. While it’s no longer free, anyone can take a class,
and at about $500 per term full-time, the price is a fraction of any other
state’s.
There is no such thing as a typical student. There are high
achievers and low ones, taking courses from accounting to welding. There are
young and old, degree-seekers and hobbyists – all commingled on some of the
most diverse campuses in the country, if not the world.
Many students, for one reason or another, simply missed the
onramp to college the first time around – people like 31-year-old Bobbie Burns,
juggling work and childcare and gradually collecting credits at San Diego City
College in hopes of transferring to a media program at a nearby university.
“I love City,” Burns said, noting that once she transfers
she’ll face a less-flexible schedule and higher fees. “I wish I could keep
going here.”
