Brianrattomcom50final

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THE INNER

MUSTANG

JH

masscomm50• spring 2015 • edited and written by brian ratto •one free copy

RISE IN OLDER GENERATION STUDENTS

Many students have walked this campus, students fresh out of high school, some still in high school, and others that have returned to school after time away. “I returned back to school to further my education in nursing,” said Tracy FelzienHaight, 41 “I had two kids and a minimum wage job that wasn’t paying the bills.” Felzien-Haight is currently taking general education classes required before applying to the nursing program. According to a 2014 college report from System 2020, out of the 15,485 Full-Time

Equivalent Students, 22- percent are over the age of 30. These are the students who may have had children at a young age, had to work full time, or for some other reason, did not go to college. “It was hard being a young single mom trying to study and raise two young boys,” said Felzien-Haight. Students like Felzien-Haight have struggled to better themselves through education. Even within the current Delta Collegian staff there are a few returning or continuing students. During an economic

depression where jobs are few and far between, many out of work Americans are returning to school. “Delta has been challenging but slowly I’m making it through all my classes,” said Felzien-Haight. Even I, at 30 years old, had to scale back my educational career to work more hours and help pay the bills at home. After a decade of schooling, I am proud to say that I am graduating this spring, with three associates of arts degrees. “I found myself at a point in my life where I was not very happy and I felt deep in my heart

Delta college increases class offerings since 2012

Over the past five years the College has faced severe budget cuts. However, with the passage of Proposition 30 state funds that were cut have been replaced as reflected in the Full Time Equivalent Students, revenue totals, and the course offerings found in 2013-2014. Prop. 30 increased taxes on earnings over $250,000 for seven years and sales taxes by a quarter cent for four years, to fund schools. Currently the college has increased their class offerings from 3360 in 2012 to 3891 in 2014. Between fall 2009 and 2013 the District experienced an 18-percent reduction in its workforce. The number of employees rose from 1129 in 2009 to 925 in 2013. The employee groups with the greatest reductions were educational administrators and classified support staff. The largest increase was the number of part time faculty members at 47. Delta is still growing the campus, the completion of the Science and Mathematics Center, renovations to the rest of the campus is one step in the right direction.

OLDER GENERATION: chart shows the age of students that attended Delta in the 2013-2014 academic year.

that something needed to change,” said Michele Handley, 50. Handley got out of addiction and back on her feet thanks to the Gospel Center Rescue Mission. “It was there that I

decided to get clean. I had a death in the family and that moment I knew I needed to do something to take care of my kids, so I decided to go back to school,“ said Handley.

Data shows students willing to travel Delta College attracts students from across the San Joaquin County region. Whether students travel a five minute or an hour to get to class, Delta College has a lot to offer students young and old. A majority of the enrollments in 2013-2014 were at the Stockton campus, with 23-percent of all enrollments in internet sections. The percentage of students enrolled in at least one internet section is reflective of where students’ reside. A majority of the internet enrollments were from students living in the Stockton or Lodi-Galt regions.

Some students are from outside the county. “I wanted to meet different people other than my high school classmates,” said Melissa Gonzalez, a Ceres resident attending Delta College. Delta does have a top rate nursing program and music program. The college is also home to one of the one of the most technologically advanced microscopy labs in the country and a renowned Caterpillar Service Technology program. “I do believe that commuting involves commitment and it motivates me to keep doing well in school,” said Gonzalez.


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