Students throughout San Francisco had their hopes dashed when City College of San Francisco announced on Feb. 4 that, except for state-mandated vocational classes, it would be cutting its 2010 summer session in order to help close a $12 million budget gap.

While the drastic move did save the college $4 million, the announcement also infuriated college students who were expecting to take a required class in order to graduate, and high school students hoping to take an intriguing class not offered at their high schools.

Although the college itself will be closed,  “College for Teens,” a privately funded program that allows high schoolers to take graduation requirements or make up failed classes, will still be open. The program will supplement the district’s summer school and let students take Health and College and Career so that they can take a wider or less stressful array of classes during the school year. While “College for Teens” will free up some schedule time in the fall for high schoolers, many other frustrated San Francisco students are being forced to put the education they want on hold. With the loss of the summer session, City College has made itself a less appealing education option.

Many City College students, for example, had been hoping to take key classes during the summer that they need to graduate into their desired fields, and that had been full during the spring and fall semesters. Others were planning on going to City College for two years and then transferring to a University of California in order to save money on tuition. With the summer session gone, these students now have to wait extra semesters, or even extra years to take crucial classes. “It's really upsetting. I can’t move on.” said Lisa Gearheart, a 25-year-old City College student quoted in the Feb. 4 San Francisco Chronicle article “S.F. City College cancels summer session.” According to the article, Gearheart will likely have to wait another year until she can take her last required class, physiology, before she can go to nursing school.

At the same time, many high school students were hoping to concurrently enroll in City College for the summer session to take a high-interest college credit class not offered at most high schools, such as Cinema, a more advanced world language class, or even Floristry. Now with the summer session’s cancellation, many high-achieving students will be forced to give up these free and personally interesting classes. Students hoping to further their education by getting college credits, thereby shortening the time needed for them to graduate, have lost one of their most affordable and convenient options.

Instead of cutting the summer session, City College should give preference to students within the city and raise the fees for students from outside of the city. Currently, City College charges $26 per semester unit for students from California and an extra fee of $179 for out-of-state students, as well as a $17 health fee for all students. If City College charged this higher rate for students from outside of San Francisco as well as from out of state, they would be able to at least hold the summer classes that are most in demand. If all 24,000 out-of-town students currently enrolled in City pay an extra $167 in tuition, the school would gain the same $4 million that axing the summer session is supposed to save. By having a large group of students pay a bit more in tuition instead of completely cutting a semester, City College will restore its legitimacy as a logical, affordable option for San Francisco students.