In case you hadn’t noticed, tuition was lowered this semester to $20 per unit for all California community colleges, now the lowest of any in the U.S. Meanwhile the nationwide annual tuition costs have risen by $90.

It should be a time for joy. More money in student’s pockets to buy all the necessities like 30-packs, party cups, and ping pong balls. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find a single student complaining about cheaper classes.

The administrators and legislators behind lowering the tuition, however, may be singing a different tune.

Enrollment numbers have been steadily declining since their peak in Fall of 2002. Between Fall 2004 and Fall 2005, Mesa College alone lost 1,405 students.

The primary motivation for decreasing the cost of enrollment was to attract more students because it would be more affordable. This hasn’t happened.

You might be deceived by taking a look at the parking lot, but attendance has not had the boost that was hoped for. Enrollment has only increased by around 300.

It’s possible that more time is needed for enrollment levels to climb back up. It may be more of a gradual increase than what was expected. However, even if community college were free, a percentage of people still would not attend.

The expected boost in enrollment would certainly have helped to make up for the loss of six dollars for each unit that each student takes. But the masses didn’t come flooding in, which equals a big financial loss to the community college system.

According to the official CCC website, the California Community Colleges System is the largest system of higher education in the world, with more than 2.5 million students each year.

Six dollars less on each unit from each student adds up. If the average number of units each student takes each semester were nine, the community college system would lose $135 million in one year.

There was a special grant of $200 million by the state legislature for the 2007-2008 school year to buffer the initial loss of funds, but that money had to come from somewhere else in the state budget, which is already overburdened as it is. If more students don’t start enrolling, something will inevitably have to change.

What’s more, California Initiative 1226 is in the works, which would decrease tuition yet again. If it is passed, tuition would go down to $15 per unit for the 2007-2008 school year, and limits would be placed on future fee increases.

Perhaps this would entice even more students to come. However, if this current decrease in tuition didn’t have the desired results, no one can say if lowering it yet again would be beneficial, or turn out to cause more financial harm.

This initiative does attempt to fix another problem. It would establish a system of independent public community college districts and Board of Governors.

Currently, community colleges draw from the same funding pool as all public schools from kindergarten through high school, while the CSU and UC schools get their own funding. This forces community colleges to compete on the same level as grade school and high school districts for funding.