Community Colleges

He wears stained and dirty clothing and his grades are sliding. His mid-term essay contains disturbing passages and his behavior in class is causing increasing concern. The student is showing clear signs of psychological distress, and the question for instructors and staff at Santa Monica College is how to approach him. Should they try to talk to him, refer him to counseling or call campus police? This student exists only in the virtual world, part of an online training program that is helping educators at Santa Monica and other colleges around the country learn the best ways to reach out to troubled and possibly dangerous students.

Your survey of Orange County school district budget cuts for next year ("District-by-District Look at Cuts," May 14) painted a bleak picture as far as it went. Unfortunately, you left out the county's community college districts. They are also part of the dismal school finance scenario. If Proposition 98 is suspended, Orange County's community colleges face an additional cut of some $30 million next year. The declining state revenues have already activated a reduction in funding for all California schools, including community colleges.

Longtime educator Brice W. Harris was named Thursday as the new chancellor of the nation's largest community college system, assuming the helm at a crucial period of funding cuts, enrollment declines and shifting priorities. He will become the 15th chancellor of the 112-college system, replacing Jack Scott, an educator and former legislator who retired earlier this month. The community colleges' Board of Governors announced Harris' selection at a news conference in Sacramento. Harris, who previously led the Los Rios Community College District in Sacramento, acknowledged the tremendous stresses in the system, which has seen enrollment drop by 485,000 students since the fall of 2008 and state funding cuts of $809 million.

Re "Community Colleges May Shelve Reading Skill Standard," May 1. It is demoralizing that Ventura County community colleges are considering a proposal to remove a requirement that students show reasonable reading proficiency. It is sad that a student can graduate from high school without competence in the basic cognitive ability to read, but it is absolutely pitiable to perpetuate this deficiency at the college level. It is further offensive to imply that students (minority or nonminority)

Enrollment in the state's 106 community colleges may be up an average of 3%, Chancellor Joshua Smith told the Community College Board of Governors. "Generally, it seems we have some positive development in the area of enrollment, and we're seeing an end of the downward spiral," he said, although he stressed that the figures were preliminary. He said a survey of 23 colleges showed an overall increase of about 3%, with 17 reporting increases, three unchanged and three with decreases.

Re "Our Sloppy Local Colleges," editorial, June 1: You are correct when you say that the governor is not funding the community colleges nearly enough to help transfer students. But you are under-researched on several points: Not all of California's community colleges require physical education to graduate. You didn't make it clear that a two-year associate's degree is not a transfer requirement. And transfer-ready students who take full transfer-class loads can easily transfer within two years if they choose to do so (and if the four-year university accepts them)

The Los Angeles Community College District's Board of Trustees has named a state education official from Virginia to head its nine campuses. Daniel LaVista, the new chancellor, is executive director of Virginia's Council of Higher Education, which coordinates education efforts for the state's public colleges and universities, a district spokesman said in a statement. LaVista, 66, will replace Interim Chancellor Tyree Wieder on Aug. 1 at an annual salary of $370,000. LaVista said his focus will be on students, particularly those who, for reasons of background or poor schooling, are underprepared to succeed in college.