COLLEGE STUDENTS NEED INCENTIVE.

Byline: GARY JASON Local View

THE California community-college system has a vital role to play in California's enviable state higher educational system. But it does so at great expense to the taxpayer -- some $8.6 billion a year -- at virtually no cost to the student.

Therein is the rub.

In view of the system's size and expense, it's no surprise that the Public Policy Institute of California's recent report on graduation and transfer rates made headlines. The report showed that less than 10 percent of California community-college students ever earn an A.A. degree. Among those students intending to transfer to four-year schools, only about a fourth succeed in doing so.

The report certainly accords with my experience in 20 years of teaching philosophy at various community-college campuses across Southern California: Attrition rates in CCC classes are unacceptably large.

Now, even those -- such as I -- who are big advocates of the community-college system must admit that there is a problem here that urgently needs to be addressed, given the parlous state of California's budget. The problem -- like the solution -- is one of pricing.

Look at it this way: If water were free, would people be as careful with its use as they are now? No, they would waste it freely.

I think that is the core of the problem with the community colleges. Since the students pay virtually nothing for the classes they take, they have no incentive to conserve scarce educational resources.

My proposal is to change the pricing structure so that students are less wasteful of CCC resources, but not in such a way as to hinder financially hard-pressed students from getting the education they need.

Currently all students -- no matter how many courses they have already taken or for how many years they have attended -- pay about $20 per unit (or will in January). A full-time student can normally complete about 30 units per year (allowing getting a standard A.A. degree in two years), so the yearly full-time tuition is a mere $600, versus $3,000 for CSU students and $7,000 for UC students.

I would replace that flat-rate low pricing with a laddered approach, tied to the total units attempted (not just completed) over a student's entire life.

For the first 60 units, charge the low current rate. Serious students can finish the job of getting an A.A., credential, or transfer to a four-year school for the bargain price of $1,200 total.

For the next 30 units, increase the fee to, say, $50 per unit -- a full-time rate of $1,500 per year. That's still a bargain, but enough of a penalty to start making students complete courses they might otherwise blow off.

For 91 to 120 units attempted (roughly three to four years of full-time college), jump the fee to $100 per unit -- which is roughly the in-state, full-time tuition rate for the CSU campuses. Upon hitting 121 and up, raise the charge to $200 per unit, or about $6,000 per year full-time -- which is still less than what the UC student pays.

By this pricing, students would be encouraged to only enroll in classes they intend to complete, and the system would save money and preserve resources for those who really need them.