Byron Herman rolled out of his dorm bed, yanked on snow pants and a beanie and stumbled across the parking lot to his 8 a.m. math class.
By late morning, the 19-year-old Tehachapi student was on his snowboard, cutting crescent shapes into a mountain slope glistening under ice-blue skies. What was unusual about this scenario last month was that Herman attends not a select academy or elite university, but Cerro Coso Community College, a public two-year institution with a campus in Mammoth Lakes.
His apartment dorm is the latest in a new wave of student housing at community colleges, as the commuter culture at such schools gives way to a more traditional college experience.
Experts say rising university tuitions are pushing more traditional college-age students into two-year schools, and community colleges are also aggressively recruiting athletes and international students, who often prefer or need on-campus housing.
"We do think it's a trend for more community colleges to provide residential housing for students," said Norma Kent, spokeswoman for the American Assn. of Community Colleges in Washington, D.C.
It's a trend
Community college dorms are springing up in Texas, Minnesota, Florida and Washington state, according to the association. But California would appear to be particularly fertile ground, with both California State University and the University of California shrinking freshman enrollment for the fall.
Nearly 2.8 million students attend California's 110 community colleges, about a quarter of all two-year college students in the nation.
A little-known secret is that 11 California community colleges already have dorms.
Built decades ago for students from remote parts of the state, some of the older dorms are little more than barracks. Others have been modernized, including those at Sierra College in Rocklin, northeast of Sacramento, drawing students from as far as Japan and Canada with special features that include a meal card honored at local restaurants.
In Santa Barbara, landlord David Sullins turned four single-family homes into shared housing for students from nearby City College. Although not exactly dorms, the houses, with such perks as maid service, helped persuade parents like New Hampshire teacher Catherine Smith to send their children across the country.
"For him, it is a major adventure," Smith said of her son, Tyler, 19. "He told me, 'Mom, I'm making memories.' "
