Local college campuses are bustling with students now that summer break is over. Sixteen-thousand six-hundred Bakersfield College students returned to class Monday, but that number is down eight percent from last year's enrollment. Campus Spokesperson, Amber Chiang, said state budget cuts forced the school to raise tuition and cut classes.
"If you want to look at us as a concert we are the hottest ticket in town," Chiang said. "We're the concert ticket you just cannot get, we are almost completely full and that's what students are feeling as a result of the budget pinch."
Chiang said 150 fewer classes are being offered this fall and students who need those ever popular math, English and science courses are finding it next to impossible to get in.
"If you don't get on the computer early and get your classes you could be out of luck," Shaliquese Leftrich, BC student, said. "You probably will have to wait another semester or you might be two semesters behind before you get into a class you actually need."
"The best thing to do is an education plan where they course out your entire four years here by ever class and every hour," Jon Bartel, BC student, said. "It gets you ahead of the game."
At Cal State Bakersfield, it's a different story. Fall enrollment is up, but so are tuition fees. A university spokesperson said high fees may be encouraging students who would have gone away to school, to stay home.
"At a lower economic time you would expect lower prices, but that's just how it is I guess," Julian Land, Cal State sophomore, said.
Cal State students start their semester September 12th.
While Cal State's freshmen enrollment numbers are up, the number of transfer students are down. The university suspects more students are staying at community college to save money before transferring.
