Overcrowded and underfunded classrooms in Washington state’s community colleges prompted the Washington Federation of Teachers to launch a "Campaign to Protect Learning Quality."  The campaign, as its title suggests, is the WFT’s response to rising concern regarding the diminished educational quality that can result from overenrollment.

"When classes are chronically overloaded, we shortchange our students," says Lynne Dodson, president of the Seattle Community College Federation of Teachers.  "There is less time for personal interaction with the instructor and less time that the instructor can spend on responding to individual assignments."

The campaign, which has the theme "class size matters, even in college," encourages instructors to say "no" to classroom overloads for the winter and spring quarters. 

"Our hope," says WFT president Sandra Schroeder, "is that this will pressure the institutions to open up additional class sections so that students will have access to small enough classes to get a quality education."

Washington’s 34 community colleges currently are overenrolled by nearly 9,400 students.  But, unlike the state’s public elementary and secondary schools, community and technical colleges do not receive state funding for each student enrolled.  Instead, the state’s colleges receive $4,200 per student in state funding for up to 123,700 students.  For any students accepted in excess of that, schools receive only $1,700 per student.  This lower level of funding results in an approximately $23 million difference.  As a result, Washington’s community and technical colleges are extremely overcrowded, its teachers are overwhelmed and the potential for quality education in the schools is compromised.  

The WFT expects the campaign to raise awareness about the problems in funding for higher education in Washington and persuade students and the public to pressure legislators to find an adequate and more stable funding source for higher education.  The campaign is likely to become an ongoing project because it is competing for funds at a time when the state is facing a projected $2.4 billion budget deficit over the next two years. 

The campaign has been kicked off at Seattle Community College, and Schroeder is confident that other institutions will soon follow. [Brooke Boeglin]

[February 25, 2003]