COLLEGE QUEUE; REGISTRATION CONTINUES AS SEMESTER STARTS.

Byline: Brooke Olson Daily News Staff Writer

Enrollments were down but spirits ran high Monday as students attended the first day of classes at Pierce, Mission, Valley and six other Los Angeles community colleges.

``This is great. I love being back,'' said Monica Bancon, 19, a second-year student at Pierce College. ``It's great to see everyone again. The atmosphere is so intense.''

Pierce recorded a 9.8 percent drop compared with fall enrollment last year, while the drop was 4 percent at Valley College and 5 percent at Mission College. Districtwide, enrollment dropped by 2 percent, said William Norlund, president of Mission College.

Officials said 78,783 students were registered at the district's nine campuses, compared with 82,120 last fall. Only one of the nine, City College in Los Angeles, experienced an increase in enrollment, up by 1 percent to 13,393.

Officials noted that fall enrollment could rise by the registration deadline Aug. 28 on the Friday of the second week of classes.

``We've got this humongous line outside the door where students are trying to enroll,'' said Billy Reed, dean of admissions at Valley College. ``I have no doubt that by the end of next week, our enrollment will be close to what is was last fall semester.''

At Mission College, where enrollment was at 51,015 on Monday, a 5 percent drop from 54,036 last fall, administrators blamed the decline partly on poor media coverage.

``My immediate reaction to these numbers is that newspaper accounts about our funding woes might have scared off students,'' said Carlos Nava, dean of students.

Six months ago, district officials predicted that the colleges would run a $9 million deficit this year. Since then administrative layoffs, decentralization of many district duties and a hiring freeze have put the district in the black, officials said.

The cutbacks have curtailed some staffing, but college administrators say students are still getting full value for their dollar. For instance, late-night and weekend library service has been restored, administrators said.

``We still have all of the student services and are even discussing expanding the number of classes after we determine how many students are enrolled,'' said Pierce College President E. Bing Inocencio.

Last-minute enrollees won't get the coveted midafternoon classes, though. Those spots filled up a month ago, students said.

Jose Espinoza, 21, grumbled about getting up early to attend 8 a.m. classes five days a week.

``The summer went by so fast, and I just forgot to register early,'' Espinoza said.

The Pierce student spent Monday morning frantically trying to enroll in classes.

For other students, their first day was a breeze.

``I got all of the classes I wanted and the people here at school have been really helpful,'' said Jenn Meyers, 18, a freshman at Pierce.

``Enrolling early is the only way to go,'' said Meyers, who did so through a program at Granada Hills High School.

College administrators are eager to keep students. For the first time in the district, each college is directly getting state funds based on enrollment, rather than having the money distributed from the district's mid-Wilshire headquarters.

At Mission College, students in a retention program contact others in danger of flunking out of school.

``The response that we've gotten with the program has been absolutely amazing,'' said Ina Geller Yates, spokesperson for Mission.

``The students don't believe the college would take the time and effort to call them personally, and that contact does a lot to help them and bring them back to school.''

Administrators and instructors took the initiative at Pierce last week, calling students who had enrolled but failed to register for classes.

``We had great success with that. A lot of students appreciated the call, and they came in and registered for classes,'' Inocencio said.

Some students said they had noticed the extra efforts but wouldn't mind if the college focused on smaller things, such as repairing equipment.

``There are a lot of things that are broken, that can't be used, like computers and stuff,'' said Katrina Villalva, 18, a Pierce student.

``I definitely think the school needs to improve on its resources for students.''

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

PHOTO (1) Jenn Meyers and Mark Teramae, both 18, find some shade at Pierce College, where fall-semester classes started Monday.

(2 -- 3) While some students wait in line to register Monday, above, others such as Katrina Villalva, 18, below, are already on their way to classes after they registered early.

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News